


Supernatural Tidings

by ImyourCardiganAngel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, M/M, inspired by the show but not based off the show, supernatural theme
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-03-30 05:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13943511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImyourCardiganAngel/pseuds/ImyourCardiganAngel
Summary: Keith has been a hunter all his life, following his parents' footsteps. His best friend, Shiro, and him have been on the job for years, and they would trust no one else to watch their backs. They've encountered numerous creatures and beings, dealing with them as they deserve, but when a certain demon challenges what they've grown up believing, Keith is thrown off. Since when has a demon seemed so human?~discontinued, sorry.





	1. CHAPTER ONE

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Here I am posting yet another fic, but I just couldn't get this out of my head! It's a supernaturally themed au, inspired by the show, but not based off it. Still has that aesthetic though, I hope. I've got a basic outline for this story, but nothing to a T, but i'm going to work really hard to make this a great story! Enjoy!  
> I do not own any of these character, they belong to the creators of Voltron: Legendary Defenders.  
> \---  
> Also, there is some violence in this chapter. Nothing too graphic, as i'm not one for excessive grittiness, but this was necessary to be semi-realistic, so if it's not your thing it's only a couple lines!

The world isn’t what you think it is, it’s not even what you think it isn’t. There’s no monsters under your bed or in the closet, and they’re not some grotesque beasts with exaggerated features. They know how to blend in, know how to not draw attention to themselves. The person sitting next to you or across the room, could be one and you could never know. But not all should be considered monsters, rather people with unfortunate circumstances, but others are the preying beasts your imagination chalks up. There’s nothing you can do to protect yourself from them, but you don’t have to. Others have already adopted that responsibility so you don’t have to, sometimes willingly, other times unwillingly.

At least, that’s the ideal version, but there’s always cracks for shadows to slip through. No one can be everywhere at once and there’s always a straggler wandering the streets when the shadows are heaviest, so no one notices the hand that wraps around their mouth, quieting their screams as they’re dragged away from the light, only to be found in a pool of blood the next morning by an unfortunate individual. But before the police arrive, two men slip into the alleyway unseen. 

“This is the third one this month,” whispers one of the men to his partner, frowning down at the body.

“Why can’t we pin this guy?” The other replies with a bitter twinge, crouching low to examine the wounds.

“We just have to be patient, Keith. This demon obviously knows what it’s doing, so we can only hope they slip up soon.”

“Shiro, we can’t just wait around while they continue to kill innocent people!” Keith snarled, eyes locked on the lifeless ones of the body laying before him.

The older man put a hand on Keith’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and though he stayed silent, his message was clear. Patience yields focus. Keith took a deep breath and started searching the pockets, careful not to leave a trace of their presence for the police to find and pulled out a piece of paper.

“Shiro,” Keith breathed, eyes glancing over the words scribbled on it before passing it into the hands of the other man.

Shiro’s eyes glanced over it, then his lips quirked. “Looks like we’ve got a slip up.”

 

Lance hummed as he walked down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, and the smell of freshly baked goods on the air, something he couldn’t appreciate for personal reasons, but knew his buddy Hunk would and that made him smile anyway. The sun shone brightly, though the threat of sunburn no longer loomed over him, and the air had a slight chill to it, one he was unaffected by. It was what his past self would have called a beautiful day, but his recent decisions have taken his life in a direction he would have never previously dreamed about, maybe only touched on in his nightmares.

Then a beautiful woman walked passed him, pulling Lance from his darkening thoughts, and his eyes followed her, a silky smile on his face, as he turned on his heels to watch her walk away. She glanced back with a shy smile, but that was all. Lance picked up his humming again, smile still plastered on his face as he walked away from the quaint shops and towards the run-down part of town. He smiled at the old apartment building that had just recently adopted a new meaning to him, and he wasted no time scaling the steps and finding the room he was looking for. He knocked out a showy tune on the peeling paint.

“I’m here to collect your soul!” He pitched his voice dramatically low. 

The door opened to reveal a bed-headed girl, glasses too big for her face, but endearing nevertheless, her expression on the other hand, not so much.  
“Are you going to say that every single time?” She growled, obviously having just woken up despite it being almost noon.

“Yes, dear Pidge, how else would you know it was me and not someone pretending to be me?”

Pidge grunted and stepped aside, allowing Lance entry to her humble abode. Lance took a seat on the couch immediately, feet propped up on the scuffed coffee table.

“Never in a million years would I guess a demon could look as domestic as you right now,” Pidge snorted.

Lance posed regally, a smug smile on his face. “Not everyone can pull off this look. It’s a gift!”

“I’m guessing not all demons are like you?” Pidge joked, but Lance’s face fell, and he adopted a solemn look as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.

“No, not at all. I hope you never have to meet any other demons and will, with all my power, keep that from happening. Demons are only in it for themselves and will do anything, use any means, to get what they want. They will kill first, ask later.” Lance’s eyes flicked dark, becoming distant, as he spoke, pinning Pidge to the spot with his intense emotional shift.

“But you’re nothing like them,” Pidge spoke softly.

Lance let out a loud sigh, eyes returning to their usual bright blue as he sunk back into the couch. 

“I can only hope, Pidge-y. I can only hope.”

“Hey, buddy!” Hunk marched out of the kitchen, tray of cookies in his hands, and Lance immediately brightened. “How’s my favorite demon doing today?”

“Great now that your smiling face is here!”

Lance reached out to grab a cookie, shoving it in his mouth immediately. He froze mid-chew when he saw the incredulous expressions on his friends’ faces and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Dude, those just came out of the oven! How did you not burn yourself?”

Lance relaxed and shrugged. “Well, being a demon your little human vulnerabilities such as heat no longer apply to me.”

“So, you can just take this tray right out of the oven without getting third degree burns?!” Hunk said in awe.

“Hunk, do you realize how much more he can do than just take your cookies out of the oven without getting burned?!” Pidge said, mind clearly whirring behind her eyes, and Lance chuckled, continuing to eat his cookies.

Lance smiled as the two humans argued with each other, thought their fondness for each other never left their eyes, and it reminded him of simpler times, good times, times he often found himself wishing for, but then he never would have met these two, and they have done a lot for him in the past year. Once Pidge and Hunk stopped their debate and settled on the couch, the trio put on their favorite television show, laughing at the reruns even though they’ve seen them all at least ten times each. 

It was at times like these that Lance felt normal once again, when he could pretend like he was just hanging with his friends, being a normal young adult and not some monster that only holds darkness within.

All too soon night fell, and his job called him. He felt the familiar pull of being summoned, and he inwardly groaned. So soon? Didn’t people have their lives to live instead of bothering him to solve all their problems. Apparently not.

Lance stood and dusted himself off. “Well, my dear friends, duty calls!” And with a snap of his fingers he disappeared, letting his summons pull him away.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Hunk stated as the two stared at the spot Lance had just been standing.

 

Shiro and Keith stuck to the shadows, watching the exchange go down. Two figures were lit by a street lamp in the empty parking lot of an abandoned building, though their words were lost in the distance. Keith gripped his knife with white knuckles as he watched them, not even daring to blink. He glanced at the paper he had repeatedly rubbed between his fingers and read over during the past week. 

I’ll always be with you. ~Lance

After days of hunting down demons and torturing information out of them on this ‘Lance,’ they were given this location, and as Keith stared unblinkingly at the tall man he was sure they had found Lance. He matched the description they were given, from the impeccable black suit to his suave smile.

“Why don’t we just take him now,” Keith growled.

“We can’t rush head first into this, especially if he’s the one who’s responsible for the murders we’ve been investigating.”

“What do you mean ‘if,’ of course he is!”

“We can’t know for sure, Keith. A piece of paper isn’t much evidence.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s a monster, isn’t he? We should take him down anyway, it’s our job.”

“I know, but we need to know if we’ve found our man or if we need to keep looking before we just off him,” Shiro replied patiently. “Look, the girl’s leaving. Now’s our chance to confront him. I’ll head around behind him while you approach him just like anyone else looking to make a deal.”

Keith nodded once, tucking his blade away and exiting their hiding place. He kept his eyes locked on the demon, who’s back was turned to Keith at the moment. Keith kept his steps even and light, despite his want to rush in and shove the knife into his back. The demon still didn’t notice his arrival when Keith paused ten feet away, only when he cleared his throat did the demon turn around, a smooth smile on his face. His eyes widened slightly as he eyed Keith up and down, but he never faltered.

“How can I help you tonight?” His voice was as smooth as his movements.

“Lance.” Keith muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Lance’s eyes narrowed as well, his posture immediately exhibiting weariness.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he replied, suspicion bleeding into the under tones.

Keith saw Shiro emerge from the shadows behind, but kept his eyes glued to Lance so as not to alert him to Shiro’s presence. He noticed that Lance’s eyes were a brilliant blue, set off by his suit, which Keith now realized was navy, not black. Keith shook his head and drew his knife, Lance’s eyes immediately locking onto the blade. He took a step back, face tight, then turned to run, only to knock into Shiro. He squeaked, obviously trying to keep himself collected as he scowled at both the hunters.

“What do you want?” His voice wavered slightly, and Keith sneered. This guy put up a pretty good act, but the brutality of the murders told Keith of his true nature.

“I think you know. Three murders in one month? Not very subtle, Lance. You had to know you’d catch someone’s attention sometime.”

Lance’s face screwed up, and he brushed off his suit with more force than necessary.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” his voice had hardened, composing himself behind a thin wall.

Keith rolled his eyes. “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that from you monsters-“

Lance bristled, lips stretching into a snarl. “You know nothing about me!”

“You’re a demon, I don’t need to know anything else!” Keith retorted, stepping closer, blade pointing at Lance.

“Lance, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way,” Shiro spoke up, crossing his arms, and drawing Lance’s gaze.

Keith saw his chance then and took it, lunging forwards but Lance side-stepped him at the last moment, though Keith still managed to sink his blade into his shoulder. Lance let out a howl of pain, hand flying to the hilt of the blade, eyes wide at the blood that trickled between his fingers. He glared at Keith, then vanished, blade still in his shoulder.

“Keith,” Shiro breathed out, pinching his nose. “We had him.”

“I know, but I saw my window and I took it! I couldn’t let that monster keep living any longer!”

Shiro didn’t reply, and Keith noticed how tired he looked. Bags under his eyes more prominent than Keith remembered, and his shoulders slumping when they’re usually broad and intimidating. Keith swallowed and looked at the ground. He hadn’t wanted to disappoint Shiro, he had just been following his instincts.

“Come on,” Shiro’s soft voice drifted through the silence. “Let’s go get some sleep. We’ll continue our search tomorrow.”

 

A loud crash sounded in the living room and Pidge threw off her blankets, grabbing the bat that sat against the wall beside her bedroom door. She rushed out, flicking the lights on after a moment’s hesitation and searched the room, which appeared empty. A moan sounded from behind the couch and she cautiously crept forward, dropping her bat at the sight before her. 

Lance was sprawled on the floor, bleeding heavily from his shoulder, where they hilt of a blade protruded. He didn’t look good, and Pidge immediately rushed to his side. Hunk stumbled into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, which promptly widened upon seeing Lance.

“Oh man! Oh man, oh man! He looks bad!”

“Hunk, stop freaking out and help me! He’s going into shock! We gotta remove this blade and stitch him up before he bleeds out!” Pidge snapped, and Hunk went into motion.

He ran and grabbed the first-aid kit and some towels, tucking them under Lance, who had long since passed out, and passed the first-aid kit over to Pidge. 

“Okay, I’m gonna remove the knife,” Pidge gently put her hand on the hilt, bracing the other on Lance’s shoulder, holding it in place.

“I can’t watch!” Hunk whimpered, covering his eyes. 

Pidge jerked hard, and the blade released with a loud squelch, metal tarnished with red. Lance didn’t even move, his body pliable beneath Pidge’s hands.  
“Hunk, I need you to stem the flow of blood and clean the wound while I get the needle ready! Can you do that?” Pidge said gently, though her urgency still present in her voice.

Hunk removed his hands, paling at the sight of the wound but nodded nevertheless, grabbing a towel and immediately putting pressure on Lance’s shoulder.

“Is he going to be alright?” Hunk asked after a minute of silence. “He doesn’t look too good despite already being undead.”

“He’s not undead. He just doesn’t have a soul, remember?”

“Right, right. But can he still die? Like, by normal means like us?”

“I…I’m not sure.” Pidge replied, finishing up with the needle. “He never really told us what could and couldn’t kill him.”

Pidge leaned in as Hunk removed the towel, giving her space to stitch Lance up. When she finished they cleaned the wound once more, then sat in silence over him. He looked like he was in pain in his sleep, not at all at peace as people usually do, and even though he was a demon, Pidge and Hunk both agreed he didn’t deserve this. They were going to kill whoever did this to him- okay, maybe not literally, but whoever was responsible had another thing coming. 

They curled up, backs against the back of the couch and fell asleep, not by choice, but by exhaustion, exhaustion from the decline of adrenaline and emotional drain at seeing their usually perky friend so close to death.

Hunk and Pidge awoke to the sounds of pans clattering, and they immediately jerked upright, alert. Their eyes shot to the floor before them, finding it cleared of blood and blood-soaked towels, and Lance. Then they turned towards the kitchen, where a string of curses where filtering from. They stood slowly, pausing in the doorway to stare dazedly at Lance, who was flitting between the stove and the mixing bowl on the opposite counter, face scrunched in concentration. There was no stiffness in his movements, or pain on his features; he looked back to his old self.

“What the hell!” Pidge yelled suddenly, and Lance shrieked, spinning around to face them with wide eyes. “What. The. Hell.” Pidge repeated, voice pitched low in a warning that Lance better start talking.

“Uh, I’m making breakfast for you guys, or at least trying to,” he replied sheepishly.

“Here, let me help you,” Hunk, with his giant heart, offered gently, rushing to help Lance out. Lance shot him a grateful smile, stepping aside as Hunk took over.

“You were bleeding on my floor just last night, and now you’re making us pancakes?! You have a lot of explaining to do, Lance.” Pidge fixed him with a stern glare and Lance shrunk in on himself.

“I was attacked,”

“Ya’ think?! By who?”

“I don’t know,” Lance wouldn’t meet her eyes. “These two guys cornered me and accused me of murdering three people this month, then the small one just lunged at me! He was going for my heart, but I managed to move fast enough that he only nicked my shoulder.”

“Nicked my ass! You were passed out on my floor bleeding all over the carpet! Lance, you scared us!”

“I teleported myself out of there and back here, but it used up my remaining energy, that’s why I passed out. I’m sorry, it was the first place I thought of!” Lance started panicking, afraid the only friends he had were mad at him.

“Bro, no, we’re glad you came to us! We were just really worried, and then we wake up and find you acting perfectly fine. We’ve just been on an emotional rollercoaster, you know?” Hunk spoke up, flashing Lance a kind smile.

Lance relaxed, closing his eyes and absent-mindedly rubbing his shoulder. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you guys. Blades don’t usually have such an effect on me, but this was a luxite blade, which is specifically made for killing demons.”

“Sounds like you’ve got some serious people after you,” Hunk muttered, flipping pancakes that were a perfect golden color. 

“Yeah, and they think you murdered three people. What have you gotten yourself into, Lance?”

“This isn’t my fault! I haven’t done anything! Those guys just showed up and started getting all stabby!”

Pidge snorted. “Stabby?”

“We believe you, buddy,” Hunk said. “Just be more careful. We don’t want any more incidents happening!”

“Maybe you should stick close until we find these guys,” Pidge muttered, picking up the knife that was now sitting on the table and studying it. 

“Woah woah woah, what? You are not going anywhere near these hunters!” Lance said firmly.

“Of course not. They’re going to come to us!” Pidge declared with a smirk, holding out the knife. 

“What?!” Lance screeched.

“Before we start arguing, let’s eat breakfast!” Hunk quickly intervened, setting down a platter of fluffy pancakes on the table.

“Fine, but only because I love you, Hunk,” Lance said, sitting down at the table still glaring across the table at Pidge.

 

Lance grumbled as he walked down the street, his senses on high alert. He had argued with Hunk and Pidge all day, but to no avail. They were set on getting to the bottom of this, and Lance certainly wasn’t going to let them do this on their own, no matter how dangerous he thought it was. So of course, he had offered to be bait, which he was now scolding himself for. This was the fourth time he had walked this route, and still nothing- he wasn’t sure to be relieved or uneasy. 

He glanced over his shoulder, paranoid by the shadows that he had previously never given a second thought to but found nothing there. He relaxed when the apartment building came into view; the hunters hadn’t shown up, so he could just tell Pidge to back down from her plan. He knocked his usual tune on the door, though some of his unease manifested in its notes, and he quickly entered, peering out once more and finding the coast clear of any hunters. 

He sighed in relief, forehead resting on the door, then he turned around, only to be grabbed by rough hands and slammed against the wall. He groaned loudly in frustration.

“Are you kidding me?!” Lance’s eyes found the eyes of his attacker- was that navy or violet, whatever it was it looked exotic- and moved on to the rest of the man pinning him against the wall.

He was small, but lean and strong, evident by his grip on Lance’s shoulder. Long lashes fanned from around his eyes, and equally dark brows gave his glare a fierce effect. His hair was dark like ink, layered to almost his shoulders, and his bangs fell in front of his eyes and brushed at his cheeks, framing his face quite nicely, in Lance’s opinion- but Lance couldn’t deny it was a mullet. 

Lance purred, lips twisting into a smirk. “Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of being pinned to the wall by someone as handsome as you. Makes me want to almost forgive yesterday’s little incident,” Keith growled and pressed his blade harder, so it bit into the skin of Lance’s neck. Lance hissed as the metal burned.

“Where are my friends?” He growled, eyes flicking black.

“You’re a demon, you don’t have friends,” Keith replied stonily. 

“Lance!” Lance’s eyes flicked back to normal at the sound of Pidge’s voice, his head snapping to the side, ignoring the blade serrating against his skin at the sudden movement. His eyes ran down the length of Pidge, scanning her for injury, relieved when he found none. “Get away from him!”

Keith was suddenly jerked back, pulling Lance with him a bit before he finally letting go. Pidge shielded Lance, glaring at the two hunters, Shiro having entered the room chasing after Pidge. Lance smiled fondly at the small girl standing her ground to protect him.

“Look, I think this is all a big misunderstanding, so why don’t we all just take deep breaths? Yeah?” Hunk entered the room, making his way over to Lance and Pidge while eyeing Keith and Shiro cautiously.

Keith snarled. “The only one’s who are misunderstanding the situation is you two!” He pointed at Hunk and Pidge, then jerked his finger to Lance. “That is a demon, not your friend!”

“We know he’s a demon! But we also know Lance didn’t murder anyone!” Pidge growled, crossing her arms and huffing in annoyance, like she’s already said this repeatedly.

Keith and Shiro stared back at her in disbelief.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because we know Lance. And Lance might be a demon, but he sure doesn’t act like one. You two on the other hand…”

“He takes people’s souls for a living!” Keith blurted out, his anger obviously putting him on autopilot. 

“Tell them, Lance.” 

Lance was drawn out of his daze by Pidge’s curt remark, and she offered him an encouraging smile, as did Hunk.

“Uh, I don’t actually collect souls. I haven’t collected a single one since my first day on the job. I talk people out of selling their souls, by choice,” Lance watched the hunters closely, but their faces revealed nothing of what they were thinking. “I know where these people are coming from, and I want to stop them from making a decision that could completely destroy their lives,” 

“Like I’m going to believe anything you say,” Keith retorted, gripping his knife tighter.

“I can vouch for him,” Pidge bit back, with equal venom. “I speak from personal experience.”

Keith and Shiro stared at them calculatingly, their faces still as smooth as marble. Then Keith slowly withdrew a piece of paper.

“If Lance isn’t responsible for killing someone in an alley a couple of towns over, then why did we find this piece of paper signed by him in the victim’s pocket?”

“Okay okay, first off, Lance has been with us most days and some nights, only leaving when he’s summoned, so he hasn’t had time to travel a couple towns over,” Hunk spoke up. “So, he has an alibi.”

“What piece of paper?” Lance cut in, stepping forward to get a better look at the writing. 

Keith bristled at Lance’s advance, but Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, and the two shared a look, seemingly having a silent conversation. Keith held the paper out and Lance snatched it from his hands before he could try anything. He glanced it over, eyes following the scribbly lines. This was his writing. How had they gotten this? Lance narrowed his eyes and pinned the hunters in place, eyes flicking black.

“Where did you get this?” 

“Like I said, it was in the pocket of a victim a couple towns over. Why? Look familiar?” Keith smirked.

“Yes, but not for the reason you think. I wrote this note over a year ago,” Lance replied, voice still gravely with suspicion. “I need to go check on something.”

“Wait, where do you think you’re going?” Keith said immediately.

“You can’t control me, mullet,” Lance growled.

And then Lance was gone, the paper fluttering to the floor. Pidge plucked it up, inspecting it for herself, as did Hunk. Keith scowled, mouthing ‘mullet’ and looking perplexed as he leaned back against the wall.

“You guys are making a mistake. You don’t know what he’s capable of,” Keith said.

“No, we know exactly what he’s capable of. You guys are the ones making a mistake by lumping him together with all the other demons,” Pidge retorted without hesitation.

“We’re just trying to help you,” Shiro spoke up, more gently than Keith. “You don’t know how many demons we’ve seen manipulate people to get what they want.”

“Fair enough, but you don’t know Lance,” Hunk countered, meeting Shiro’s gaze evenly. “Lance refuses to let us get involved with his work, refuses to pull us into anything that could put us at risk- he didn’t even want us to get involved with you two.”

“Yet he stays here with you guys. That could possibly be the most dangerous thing he could do,” Keith crossed his arms, blowing his bangs out of his face.

“Only because he has no where else to go and we kind of forced him to stay. He also hasn’t left us completely defenseless, we know how to draw warding symbols and demon traps! He even told us how to summon him if we were ever in danger!”

Shiro rubbed a hand down his face, sighing heavily. “Look, we want to believe you-” Keith snorted, “-but our years of experience and instinct tell us otherwise. And we still haven’t totally debunked him as innocent.”

“If a demon can be innocent,” Keith muttered, and Shiro shot him a ‘not helping’ look.

“So how about we make a deal,” Shiro continued, and Pidge raised an eyebrow to indicate she was listening. “We stick around for a few days to observe Lance, that’s all, just observe, and if he proves clean, we’ll leave.”

“Hold on, I didn’t agree to this,” Keith argued, pushing off the wall. “He could behave for the few days we stick around, and then go on a murdering rampage again! We can’t just let him go!”

“Keith,” Shiro pleaded.

“Fine, but I’m not letting him leave my sight for one second,” Keith growled, unsheathing his knife and playing with it in his hands.

Shiro turned back to Pidge and Hunk, a hopeful smile on his face. The two exchanged a look, faces not as expressionless as Keith and Shiro’s had been, and Keith was in awe at the emotions they held for this demon. He saw worry and fear in their eyes, deep and genuine and Keith was rocked that someone could feel such things for a monster. He decided to return his attention to his blade instead of considering why such emotions would exist for a demon. 

“We want to talk to Lance first, it feels unfair to make the decision without him,” Pidge said finally, and Shiro consented.

“We’ll return tomorrow morning for your answer, then,” Pidge gave a curt nod of agreement. 

Keith and Shiro made their way to the door, Keith exiting first.

“What will you do if we veto your idea?” Pidge’s voice made Shiro pause.

He looked back at her sullenly, but with resolute strength. “We’ll take matters into our own hands and make the decisions necessary to keep any more people, including you two, from being harmed.” Then he closed the door with a click, leaving Hunk and Pidge in a deafening silence.

 

Lance stood in the shadows, just outside of the rectangular light shining onto the grass. He gazed through the window where the light was emitting, into the room he was all too familiar with. Inside, a boy- 12 now, right?- was reading on his bed, lamp burning on the bedside table. It was the only light on in the quaint house, whose white paint was peeling, but Lance had always thought it added to the character. 

Lance wanted to dive through the window and wrap the boy up in his arms, to never let go, but that would be a mistake. He couldn’t put himself back in this boy’s life because he would only have to rip himself out of it again, and he wasn’t sure he could do that. Even just being here was a mistake, but he had to make sure, had to check for himself, that he was safe, that they were safe. He stayed standing there in a daze until the light was put out, the boy snuggling into bed, and then Lance wiped his tears, slowly approaching the window and sinking to the ground, snuggling up to the house so his back was against the wall and waited until he heard soft snores before whispering his favorite Spanish childhood lullaby, one his mother used to always sing to him, and he used to always sing to his siblings, and the lyrics felt heavy as they left his mouth, filled with all the things he wish he could say but would not allow himself to reveal.

He wasn’t sure how long he had sat there, but he knew it was far longer than he should have. So, with a final glance into the room, he disappeared back to his new home, hoping he would still be able to call it home after the night’s events.

He was relieved to find Keith and Shiro gone when he popped back into the apartment. Hunk and Pidge were curled up on the couch, and Lance couldn’t stop the small smile that graced his lips. He quietly picked up a blanket, draping it over their forms as best he could, and he realized that he was still humming the lullaby, but it only made his smile widen.

“What?! No way! No way am I allowing hunters into our lives!” Lance screeched after Pidge and Hunk had filled him in on the hunters’ plan. 

“We don’t like it either, but it’s not like we have anything to hide. And if they see that you’re not like the other demons maybe they’ll give you a chance!” Hunk offered. 

Lance scoffed. “You really think they’ll just let me go,”

“No, but this is the only thing we have going for us. If you run, they’ll just continue to hunt you down,” Pidge reasoned.

“And that makes you look guilty,”

“I’m innocent!”

“We know that, but they don’t,” Pidge snapped, then sighed. “We’re just trying to protect you, Lance.”

“I know,” Lance deflated. “But you shouldn’t have to.”

“Hey, that’s what friends do,” Hunk rubbed his arm.

Two stern knocks made all three of their heads turn towards the door, and Hunk sighed, standing to open it, looking through the peep hole beforehand though. Just as expected, Shiro and Keith stood on their doorstep, Keith’s eyes immediately zeroing onto Lance. Lance wanted to scowl but wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how they were affecting him, so instead he flashed him his biggest smile. Keith glanced away, crossing his arms and blowing his bangs out of his eyes. Lance smirked, satisfaction settling in his stomach.

The two hunters stood awkwardly in the living room, not sure if they should speak first, while Lance, Hunk, and Pidge sat on the couch studying them in silence.

“Alright,” Pidge sighed, slipping her fingers under her glasses to rub her eyes. “We agree, but we have terms.” Shiro and Keith nodded, not speaking, so Pidge continued. “You are not to do anything without telling us first,” Pidge motioned between the three of them, “And you are not to put Lance in harms way to prove any of your stupid theories.” Keith narrowed his eyes and looked like he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. “Finally, after you see that Lance is innocent, you need to leave us alone and never come back.” Pidge’s voice held strength, eyes warning, daring the hunters to argue with her.

Keith took a step forwards, ready to do just that, but Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

“We understand, but you need to understand that we must do our job. We will follow your terms until they no longer apply to keeping you safe.”

“And Lance safe,” Hunk added. 

“Yes,” Shiro said a bit tightly, glancing over at Lance, who smiled and waved at him.

“You don’t have the authority to control us!” Keith burst out, fists clenched. “You can’t tell us how to do our jobs when we know more about demons than you ever will!”

“And you don’t have the authority to assume things about Lance!” Pidge snapped back.

“Pidge,” Lance spoke up. “I can take care of myself.” His eyes softened, and he leaned in to whisper something in her ear, and she punched his arm, a smile breaking out on her face. Lance turned back to Shiro and Keith. “Do whatever you need to,” he waved his hand like he couldn’t care less, but the glare he fixed them with warned them about trying anything against them. “I didn’t kill those people, so I have nothing to hide.”

“We’ll see,” Keith muttered, then turned and stomped out of the room.

“Uh, thank you,” Shiro said a little awkwardly, addressing the three of them. “We have some things to take care of first, then we’ll be back tomorrow to start observations,” then he followed Keith out the door.

“They act like I’m some wild animal,” Lance growled, eyes still lingering on the door.

“Then we’ll just have to change their minds,” Hunk smiled encouragingly, and Lance melted.

Honestly, how had he gotten so lucky to have friends like the two sitting right beside him, supporting him despite his situation of being an employee of Hell.

 

When the hunters returned the next morning, they were surprised Lance was gone. Hunk assured them he was just out getting groceries, and as if on cue Lance walked through the door, grocery bags hanging off his arms. Pidge trudged into the room then too, bed head and all, having just woke up.  
“Oh, you’re here already,” she muttered monotonously. 

“Pidge-y, it is almost noon,” Lance replied, ruffling their hair as he entered the kitchen to set the bags down. 

Hunk took a plate of food from out of the microwave and set it on the table as Pidge climbed into a chair, immediately digging in.

“Would you guys like anything?” Hunk asked Shiro and Keith, who turned surprised gazes on the big guy.

Lance chuckled at them. “Hunk here has a big heart, so while we may have our disagreements, he’s never one to deny anybody of his delicious cooking!” Lance draped an arm over Hunk’s shoulders. “I don’t even need to eat, but I can’t seem to deny Hunk’s meals.”

“He’s teaching me Spanish in return,” Hunk added with a smile, then paused. “Wait, you don’t need to eat?”

“Nope, remember human vulnerabilities no longer affect me,”

“Right right! Sorry, I’ll get used to it eventually!”

 

Then Hunk turned back to Shiro and Keith, who had watched the whole exchange with curiosity. They’d never seen a demon look so human.

“Ah, sorry! No thanks! We appreciate the offer though,” Shiro finally coughed out, shaking himself out of his daze. 

“Course,” Hunk nodded and moved on, helping Lance put away the groceries.

Keith and Shiro took a seat across from Pidge, who looked more awake now. She chuckled and shook her head at them.

“You should see the looks on your faces, like you’d never expect a demon to help put groceries away,” 

“Well, did you?” Shiro said, a smile drifting across his face.

“Not in a million years, but after seeing me carrying like seven bags up the stairs Lance took it upon himself to collect the groceries every Sunday,” she smiled as she reminisced. “Lance isn’t a bad person, and I hope you can look past the whole demon thing and see him for who he really is.”

“So you keep saying,” Keith said quietly, glancing back at where Hunk and Lance were tossing around the groceries and placing them in their designated spots. 

After Pidge finished breakfast, or rather brunch, they settled into the living room, flipping through the channels, but with it being a Sunday, nothing was on.

“Why don’t you guys give us the dirt on these murders,” Lance spoke up, breaking the silence that had settled in the room.

Keith and Shiro were sitting on the floor off to the side, flipping through a journal and muttering between each other, thoughts obviously elsewhere. At Lance’s words, they glanced up, sharing a look and then Shiro shrugged.

“Might as well, maybe you have some information that could help us,” he stood and placed the journal on the table before the three, who slid off the couch to take a closer look.

“Hopefully I’ve picked up a few skills by watching all those Sherlock episodes,” Hunk muttered.

“We should have, Pidge only made us watch them like five times each!”

“Ten times for the Reichenbach Fall,” 

“I had to figure out how he survived the fall!” Pidge cut in.

“Uh, anyways,” Shiro cleared his throat as Keith sat down beside him, thoughts still elsewhere as he wasn’t scowling as much, a more thoughtfully frustrated expression on his face, which, okay, was still pretty close to a scowl but not as intense. Lance found he kind of liked it, made his features less harsh.

“We haven’t found any correlation between the victims which has left us puzzled, and then we found that note leading us to Lance in the previous victim’s pocket,” Shiro explained. “And the locations of the murders have no correlation or significance either.”

“Let me see the bodies,” Lance spoke up, leaning in to get a closer look when Shiro flipped the page to where three photographs of the gruesome scenes were taped to the paper. Hunk squeaked and immediately turned away; Lance patted his shoulder in reassurance absent-mindedly.

Lance’s face twisted, eyes scanning each picture, biting the inside of his cheek while doing so. His hands hovered over the journal, but never touched it, like it would burn him or him it. Then he sighed and leaned back.

“I recognize them,” 

That snapped Keith from his thoughts, and he immediately jumped in. “You do? How?”

“They’ve all summoned me before. I talked to this guy just over two weeks ago. His daughter has cancer and he was going to sell his soul, so she would be healed. I told him this wasn’t the way to heal her,” Lance muttered solemnly. “Last I checked in, she was improving, the chemo significantly making a difference.”

“Wait, you checked in?” Keith’s face scrunched.

“Yeah, I usually always check in with the people who summon me to make sure they’re still doing all right. Most of them are lost and just need guidance towards making the right choice.”

“Uh-huh, and you haven’t checked in with any of these people recently?” Keith asked, voice slow with suspicion. 

“Obviously not, or I would have known they were dead!” Lance snapped, eyes flicking black. 

“Okay, okay! Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” Shiro looked pointedly at Keith, “and let’s just cool our jets,” his gaze drifted over to Lance, who’s eyes returned to their blue color.

“I’m totally cool, no one is cooler than me,” Lance said innocently. 

“Okay, so if Lance has dealt with all these people, could someone be targeting them specifically?” Pidge spoke up, eyes lingering on the photographs.

“Maybe,” Shiro hummed. “You said you don’t collect souls?” Lance nodded firmly. “Then maybe someone has noticed.”

“So, what? They just go around killing these people because Lance didn’t collect their soul?” Hunk chuckled like he was joking, but his smile dropped when he saw the serious looks on everyone’s faces. “Wait, really? Someone would really do that?”

“A demon would do that,” Keith cut in. “Demons are supposed to collect souls, so if Lance isn’t doing his job then someone may be doing it for him.”

“I can’t win with you, can I? First you criticize me for being a demon, and now your criticizing me for not doing my job and collecting souls?” Lance waved a hand when Keith made to protest. “I don’t want to hear it. Anyway, it’s not like I’m doing anything illegal. I can’t take anybody’s soul unless they allow me to, and none of the people I talk to have the chance to give their permission.” A sly smirk spread across Lance’s face.

“Smart,” Shiro muttered, looking an Lance in curbed awe.

“When I was human, I was a master at wiggling through loopholes, turns out it carried over with me when I-” Lance cut off suddenly, then coughed and continued more rushed. “When I turned into a demon, of course.” 

“But someone could still be displeased with what you’re doing and wanting revenge. Made any enemies recently?” Keith asked, scowl back on his face.

“Besides you? Nah. I don’t get involved with any of those other guys.” 

“Okay, so we’re back to square one,” Shiro sighed, picking up the journal to scan over it again.

“Well, I mean, we’ve made progress in proving Lance’s innocence, so that’s something,” Hunk added. “Right?”

“Yes,” Shiro said absently, still flipping through the pages. “That definitely is something.”

Keith only huffed and crossed his arms, not looking any of them in the eye. “But that doesn’t help us stop more people from being murdered,” he growled.

“Maybe not, but if this guy is only going after people Lance has dealt with then we know how he’ll pick his next target.” Pidge reasoned. 

“I’ve dealt with hundreds of people just in this year!” 

“How long has it been since you talked to these victims,” Keith asked, his thoughtful expression back on his face.

“All of them came earlier this month,” Lance replied confidently. “I never forget a face.” His eyes narrowed at Keith, staring a bit longer than necessary, but Keith didn’t seem to notice.

“So, that means you only recently caught this murderer’s attention,” Pidge mused. “Which means he must only know your recent dealings.”

“So, everyone who’s summoned you this month could be the next target,” Shiro glanced up, this conversation yielding more progress than his search. 

“But we can’t know for sure,” Keith pointed out.

“We don’t know anything for sure, but we have to start somewhere,” Shiro countered.

“But how are we going to keep tabs on all these people?” Hunk asked, worry reflecting in his eyes. “We can’t be everywhere at once!”

Everyone looked stumped, then Lance cleared his throat. “Maybe we don’t have to.” Curious gazes turned on him, and he smirked. “What if we let them come to us?”

“And how would they do that?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I give them a way to summon me if they’re in any danger,” Lance said smugly, knowing his idea was a good one.

“That…could actually work,” Shiro said slowly, thinking it through in his mind.

“But you’d be the only one summoned to the location. The rest of us wouldn’t know where you went,” Keith pointed out.

“Then I’ll call you and tell you the location, easy peasy,” Lance shrugged.

“It’s not the most fool proof plan, but it’s all we got,” Shiro spoke up. “So, let’s try it.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Lance stood, hands feeling around his body as if checking to see if he had anything on him.

“Okie-dokie, I’ll be back before you can say ‘Lance is the coolest demon in the furnace called Hell!’” He shot the group finger guns then disappeared.

“Lance is the coolest demon in the furnace called Hell,” Hunk said, then shrugged when everyone turned amused looks on him. “What? Just thought I’d try it.”

After that, the tension seemed to slip from between the two groups. Pidge and Hunk started asking the hunters questions about the different things they’ve encountered, as well as what they did before they started hunting, and other personal questions that the hunters dodged for the most part. However, they did talk about the different creatures they’ve seen, recounting their adventures from the journal. Pidge and Hunk listened intently, eyes wide and mouths wider.

“I could never be a hunter,” Hunk muttered after one particularly intense story involving a poltergeist.

“I could,” Pidge snorted.

“Pidge, you’re like four foot!” Hunk argued.

“Perfect for sliding between legs, or claws, or whatever,” 

But before they could continue their argument, Lance appeared in the room, pitching forwards towards Keith, whose hands automatically steadied him. He looked exhausted, leaning heavily onto the Keith, eyes unseeing. 

“I’ve never seen anyone with eyes as exotic as yours,” Lance said, tilting his head as he looked more closely at Keith’s eyes.

“Uh,” Keith was immediately uncomfortable by the close proximity, eyes darting away and then back at Lance, who seemed unaffected by his obvious discomfort.

“Lance!” Pidge appeared and took Lance’s arm, guiding him to the couch.

“M’ fine,” Lance muttered, sinking gratefully onto the couch. “Probably shouldn’t have made that many runs in one night, but everyone’s been warned. I’m just..gonna go to… sleep now,” and Lance had already drifted off. 

“Is he okay?” Shiro asked, glancing worriedly at Lance.

Pidge wanted to make a snappy remark on why he should care but thought better of it. She could understand where the hunters were coming from after hearing their horror stories earlier. 

“Yeah, he just needs to recharge,” she shrugged. “We should probably get to bed too. Hunk, where are those air mattresses we bought a while ago?”

“Oh, in the closet! I’ll grab them!”

“You really don’t have to-“

Pidge rolled her eyes. “What, you going to pay for a motel instead? Based on what you were saying earlier, you guys don’t have a lot. And this will help us get used to you being around anyways. So, just let us be nice so we can stop being at each other’s throats.”

Hunk returned with the mattresses and no more protests came from Shiro or Keith while they set them up. And after distributing blankets and pillows, Hunk and Pidge went off to bed, leaving Lance, Keith, and Shiro in the living room. 

Keith laid stiffly for an hour or so, but Shiro’s even breaths eventually encouraged him to relax. He tossed and turned, until eventually he settled, eyes finding Lance sprawled on the couch. Never would he have guessed he’d be sharing a room with a demon. He watched Lance’s chest move with his breaths, watched his eyelids flutter- and wondered if demons could dream- and was hit for a second time at how human he looked at times like this, but Keith knew inside of him a darkness was waiting to be released. He was a demon, and that happened with all demons, right? There was no evidence refuting Keith’s thoughts, so why did he feel guilt sprouting in his chest? Keith stayed like that, warring with his thoughts, and trying to make sense of the demon laying of the couch before him, until sleep took him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what'd ya think? Feel free to leave comments and kudos- it's what keeps me writing! And i'm also around to just chat about anything you feel like! I've got some pretty interesting twists planned, so I hope you stick around! Thanks for reading!  
> Updates will be sporadic, so sorry! I'm currently working on four other fics cause I have no self control when it comes to writing. *shrugs* Oops. No regrets!


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *spongebob-esque close up of my bloodshot eyes* It's 2am and here I am posting. JK, this is my time of day. I would stay up until 2 every night if I could, and sleep until 11, but life man. But, if you're reading this right now at 2am and you're eyes are burning, go to sleep. Take care of yourself, this is a long ass chapter man, and it will be waiting in the morning- don't do it.  
> Anyways, I don't normally update so fast, but being on Spring Break has given me much needed time, and thus I am writing as much as I can. I'm really happy with where this is heading, a lot happens this chapter and I'm excited to see what you guys think, and hope you enjoy!  
> ~In the beginning, there's a dream that's kind of intense. So, if it makes you uncomfortable, just skip it! Don't read anything that makes you feel uneasy! Stay safe!

Everything’s black, then suddenly he’s walking down a street. Homes representing varying economic backgrounds line the road, along with thick oak trees, equally spaced and creating a symmetrical scene. The moon shines high in the sky, it’s light bathing everything in a serene glow, and a few stars twinkle in the black expanse of sky. It’s a peaceful night, but he doesn’t feel peace inside of him, only a burning rage, flames licking his throat, threatening to suffocate him. He’s also afraid, no, terrified, but not once do his legs hesitate to carry him down the street, like his body is on autopilot.

Then a white house comes into view and he immediately recognizes it, the mailbox still crooked on its stand from when Veronica crashed into it the first time she learned to ride a bike. No lights are on in the house, the curtains drawn for the night, and everything is eerily silent, no insects chirping or wind rustling through the leaves. He marches up the driveway, the fire still burning inside of him, and he’s suddenly no longer afraid for himself, but for the people inside the house. He wants to shout, to run the other way, but his body doesn’t react to any of the commands his brain gives. He reached the porch, the steps squeaking in an all too familiar way, and he twists the knob, the door easily opening.

Suddenly he’s upstairs, opening the door to his parents’ room, seeing them fast asleep in bed. He tries to scream again, to slam the door to alert them, but to no avail. He watched in horror as his fingers elongate, skin turning black as coal, and nails sharpen. He’s sure he’s crying now, squeezing his eyes shut when the burning rage inside of him becomes overwhelming, and his body finally consents, plunging him into darkness. But now he can hear screams, agonizing and yelling out his name, and his body shakes harder. They crescendo, overloading his senses and leaving his head spinning and lungs breathless from his cries, then it all cuts out. 

He tentatively opens his eyes and is met with his own gaze looking back. He’s standing in his own room before a mirror, and he looks at himself in horror. Blood covers him, splattered across his face, soaking the sleeves of his jacket and front of his shirt and pants, looking almost black in the dim light. His hands are still monstrous and black, but his face remains covered in bronze skin. His eyes are black, pupil-less, and he watches as a twisted grin splits his face, holding no warmth. His reflection starts laughing and he feels his shoulders jerk with the motion, and he realizes that he is actually looking at himself, not some horror reflection his mind created. What has he done? Where is his family? He turns to run out the door, the names of his family on his lips, but then his reflection grabs his wrist, spinning him back around. His reflection’s claws rest on his chest, biting through the shirt into skin, and another cruel grin twists his lips as he sinks his claws deeper into his chest.

Lance jerked awake, gasping as blind terror swells in his chest as he finds himself falling. He yelps and hits the ground with a loud thud, blanket falling on top of him since it was wrapped around his legs. Lance groans; he remembers he had been sleeping on the couch.

“Lance?” A tentative voice says from nearby, and Lance closes his eyes as more tears threaten to spill. He didn’t need Keith to see him like this, or anyone else for that matter, but especially not Keith. What was the hunter still doing here anyway? What time was it?

Lance groaned louder, making to wipe his face like he was just rubbing the sleep from his eyes and not actual tears, and he silently hoped it was still dark enough to hide the tear tracks down his cheeks and red eyes. He sat up to untangle his legs from the blanket, not daring to look over from where Keith’s voice had come from and tossed the blanket back on the couch. He stood without a word, using the couch as support, not trusting his wobbling legs for a moment, then stomped to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He held a warm rag to his face for a couple minutes, pleased to find the swelling from his tears had reduced significantly, as had the red of his eyes. He wet his hand and rubbed it through his hair, taming it, and felt himself relax. It was only a dream, it was only a dream, he kept chanting to himself like a mantra. 

When he worked up enough courage to exit the bathroom and face Keith, he was surprised, and relieved, to see the hunter had fallen back asleep. Lance sunk back onto the couch with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling with nothing else to do, but then his thoughts started bombarding him, and he stood, needing a distraction. He slipped out of the apartment silently, finding it was early morning, the suns rays just visible on the horizon. The street was still silent and motionless, like it was frozen in time. A cool breeze washed over Lance’s heated skin and ruffled his hair, but he didn’t shiver, he couldn’t. He set off down the street, hoping to clear his head.

 

Keith couldn’t get the image of Lance out of his mind, not while lying in bed waiting for the others to wake up, nor when eating breakfast while Pidge and Hunk rambling on about some kind of technology. The expression Lance had been wearing looked like one of terror, but maybe it was a trick of the light because demons couldn’t feel emotions, right? They only felt empty inside, except for a twisted joy when they were bringing harm to people’s lives, right? It also looked like Lance was crying, he swore he caught the glistening on his cheeks as he fell off the couch, but demons couldn’t do that either, Keith was sure of this. He stabbed a piece of egg with more force than necessary, and shoved it into his mouth, glaring at the wall.  
“Rough night?” He glanced over to see everyone at the table staring at him. He curled in on himself.

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” he mumbled, then continued eating, staring down at his plate instead of meeting their gazes.

Conversation soon started up again, Hunk talking about his favorite things to cook, most of them his grandmother’s recipes he explained, and Shiro started talking about his favorite meals his mom used to cook, but Keith quickly tuned that out, not wanting more unwanted emotions added to the storm currently building inside him.

“Where did Lance go?” Pidge huffed in annoyance. “I want to ask him about last night!”

Keith wondered if she knew about the incident of Lance falling off the couch. Maybe she heard him, he had cried out while falling; Keith was surprised Shiro hadn’t woken up. 

“We need to know if there’s still more people who need to be warned, if he managed to get to everyone last night. And if he did, I need to punch him for pushing himself too hard!”

So, she didn’t know. Only Keith knew. Should he confront Lance about it? Or would that make things worse? Keith inwardly groaned and lamented as to why it had to be him carrying this weight. Was Shiro feeling as conflicted and confused as he was? Probably not. Shiro always took things at face value, not overthinking everything; he was a lot more flexible than Keith. 

Then the front door opened, and a voice rang out through the apartment, Lance’s voice. And he sounded back to his normal self and looked back to his usual perky self when he danced into the kitchen, holding up a box.

“I brought doughnuts!” He sang, a knowing smile on his face.

Pidge and Hunk cheered, Pidge making grabby hands and taking the box from him, throwing open the lid and not hesitating in shoving the entire doughnut in her mouth. Keith blanched, and Shiro did a double take. She mumbled something unintelligible and Lance laughed.

“Of course, I knew it was your favorite, you told me last week! And you’re welcome, Pidgeon,”

Keith stared at him, looking for any chinks in his armor, but seeing no evidence of this morning’s…whatever that had been. Lance glanced over at him and Keith narrowed his eyes in question, but Lance quickly adverted his eyes elsewhere. Okay, so Keith hadn’t been imagining this morning. He needed to sort this out, so he decided he would ask Lance when they happened to be alone.

After they cleaned up breakfast, Lance went over everything he did last night, and everyone was surprised he had managed to get into contact with every one of the people he had met with this month. Then he explained how he would be summoned, holding up what looked like a business card and saying it just needed to be burned for him to arrive. He gave each of them one at Shiro’s suggestion just as precaution. 

Then they perused over the Shiro and Keith’s notes on the murders again, hoping their refreshed minds could piece together more helpful information, but to no avail. By the end of it their eyes were glazed over, and minds stuck in one train of thought like a record that had played to the end and was now just skipping. Keith watched Pidge stare absently at a picture, expression never changing, and was sure Shiro had been reading that same sentence repeatedly for the past five minutes.

“I know what we all need!” Lance announced suddenly, drawing blank gazes. “A break in Heaven!” Lance’s eyes glittered.

“Heaven?” Keith said, eyebrows and nose scrunching.

“Aw yeah! Let’s dance the night away!” Pidge pumped her arms in the air, whooping.

“It’s a club, Keith,” Lance smirked. “But I guess that’s not really your thing.”

“Uh, dude, do you think it’s okay to take hunters there?” Hunk said, tapping two fingers together.

“Yeah, bro, it’s a universal club, so everyone is welcome, but thanks for reminding me,” Lance turned stern eyes on Keith and Shiro. “Heaven Altea is a club that lets in everything from humans to vampires to demons, but it is well managed. I’ve never seen any fights break out, and if anyone says anything threatening or demeaning they are immediately escorted out. Everyone in there is respectable and behaved. I assure you it’s completely safe!” Lance glared at them.

“It’s true, or he would never let us go in there,” Pidge shrugged.

“So, no starting fights! And to ensure you don’t, you will be leaving all of your weapons here,” Lance’s face was daring them to argue, and Keith wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.

“No way! Then I’m not going.”

“Shame, I was going to ask you to dance,” Lance smirked. 

“I thought you said you weren’t going to let Lance out of your sight,” Pidge spoke up, smug grin on her face, and Keith glared at her, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

Then Shiro clapped a hand on his back. “Then it looks like we’re in!” He smiled gently as everyone cheered. 

 

Keith could hear the music outside of the club, the heavy beats vibrating the walls, and he grimaced, looking over the façade in disdain. It was ornate and flashy, and everything Keith tried to stay away from. He felt a hand on his shoulder and Shiro offered an encouraging smile when Keith turned his gaze on him. Keith’s hand wandered to where his knife was usually strapped to his hip, looking for comfort, but he scowled at its absence and he shot a glare at the back of Lance’s head. Lance had practically wrestled him to the ground to make sure all knives were off his body- curse his demonic strength- and had actually succeeded in finding every one of them. 

Then Lance had declared they needed to dress in nicer clothes, as apparently this club was well known for its prestige. He had disappeared and returned with two suits, handing them over to Shiro and Keith, who looked at him, perplexed. Lance had only smirked, leaving the room with Pidge and Hunk to, what Keith had assumed, change into his own suit. 

Keith tugged at the stiff lapels, uncomfortable in how nice it was, not so much its style. It was a respectable wine-colored suit, simple cut and style, with a black undershirt and tie. Keith had never worn anything so nice, and he was kind of afraid he would ruin it. Shiro was in the classic white and black tux, collar high and a bow-tie secured around his throat. Lance wore a suit that matched his eyes, not the navy one he had worn the night Keith attacked him, but a brighter blue, like the color of the waters of the Caribbean, and a white undershirt and tie. Pidge was in a forest green suit with a white undershirt and black tie, and Hunk wore a gold suit, which complemented his skin tone very nicely, and his lapels and cuffs were black like his tie, but undershirt was white. According to Lance, they all looked “absolutely dashing” and ready to “bring the house down,” the house being Heaven.

Keith’s disdain immediately turned to dread as they entered the club, and he saw the crowd of writhing bodies lit by the multicolored lights flashing from their place on the stage, where a DJ with oversized headphones stood, bopping to his own mix. The ornate architectural elements outside continued to the inside, the ceiling vaulted and many Corinthian columns standing throughout the room, lush plants in golden pots sat at their bases. Flashy couches and chairs were stationed around the room, some occupied, and classically-influenced statues rose above the crowd, eerily still when juxtaposed to the dancing bodies on the dance floor. Keith waited for them to start dancing as well.

Keith immediately headed to the bar while Pidge, Hunk, and Lance rushed to the dance floor, wide smiles on their faces. Shiro grabbed a couch in one of the corners, and once Keith grabbed their drinks, he headed over to him. He kept his eyes peeled and head on a swivel; the bartender had been fairy, his ears pointed and eyes dancing with magic, and Keith swore the woman who had asked him for a dance was a Vampire if her sharpened teeth were anything to go by. 

He sat down with a huff beside Shiro, who thanked him as he took his drink. They had a clear view of the entire room from where they sat, and Keith hid his smirk behind his glass. So, he wasn’t the only one uneasy. Keith’s eyes found the other three of their party of five, laughing and swaying on the dance floor. Lance’s eyes widened when the song changed, and he whooped, immediately spouting off all the lyrics dramatically, making Pidge snicker. He spun her, and then did the cha-cha with Hunk. Keith let his eyes continue to scan the room until his lips found that his glass was empty. He muttered as much to Shiro, asking if he wanted anything else- he declined- and headed back up to the bar. This would be his last glass; he didn’t want to be off his game if something happened.

While he stood waiting for his drink, a voice whispered ‘hey’ in his ear, and Keith spun around, hand reaching for his absent knife. He relaxed when it was only Lance, who raised a finger at the bartender, a drink immediately served to him with a wink, before turning to Keith with a smile.

“Enjoying yourself, mullet?” 

Keith rolled his eyes, picking up the drink the bartender had just set down before him. “Like you said earlier, it’s not really my thing,” he shrugged.  
Lance frowned slightly, “Maybe you’re just too grumpy!”

“Maybe I am.” Keith replied flatly, setting his already empty glass on the bar. Lance did the same.

“Do you wanna try to dance?” Lance asked, almost looking shy, but Keith’s thoughts told him this was Lance trying to mess with him. 

“No,” he replied curtly.

“Your loss,” Lance shrugged, frown pulling at his lips, but it was immediately replaced with a flashy smile as a beautiful woman passed. 

Lance spun on his heel to follow her, but Keith grabbed his arm. “Wait, Lance.” He sighed.

Surprise flashed across Lance’s face, but it settled into something expectant. “About this morning,” Keith started, searching Lance’s face for any reaction.

“What about this morning?” Lance replied stiffly, eyes distant.

Keith glanced around then leaned in closer, lowering his voice. He may not particularly like Lance, but he wasn’t going to let others hear what Lance so obviously didn’t want anyone to know about.

“What was that?” Keith wasn’t sure what else to say and flinched when Lance scowled at him.

“What do you mean ‘what was that?’” Then Lance took a deep breath, eyes fluttering closed and then reopened. Keith noticed he looked more tired, shoulders drooping slightly. “I just had a dream, no big deal. Sorry I woke you.”

Lance made to leave, head ducked, but Keith’s hand was still on his arm. “Uh, no, it’s fine. Do you want to talk about it? You looked pretty shaken?” Keith didn’t know why he hadn’t just left it, he blamed his own damn curiosity. 

Lance seemed to recover, and a fluid smile stretched across his face as he shook off his grey cloud. “Careful, Keith, people may think you care!”  
Keith released Lance’s arm and scowled, looking away. “Sorry I asked.”

When he glanced back up, Lance looked perplexed, like he was trying to settle an internal conflict, and Keith raised an eyebrow. Then Lance shook his head, his eyes clearing, and he grabbed Keith’s arm, pushing him towards the exit.

“Follow me,” he whispered, taking the lead.

Keith’s guard was immediately raised, and he looked across to Shiro still sitting on the couch, eyes finding Keith, a question in them. Keith raised a hand, five fingers splayed, letting Shiro know if he wasn’t back in five to come find him. Then he followed Lance out of the club, and into the alleyway beside the building. 

Keith settled against the wall, one foot steadying him, while Lance paced in front of him. He remained silent, eyes following Lance.

“I know you don’t trust me,” Lance finally spoke up.

“What gave it away?” Keith replied, lips quirking.

“And I know you don’t think I have any of my humanity remaining,” now Lance was still, eyes boring into Keith’s.

Keith swallowed, growing more serious. How could Lance know? He’d never told him that, at least not to his face.

“I can see it in how you stare at me whenever I laugh with Pidge and Hunk, or do something else that you never thought a demon could do.”

“I don’t mean to- I just didn’t think-“ Keith stumbled over his words, surprised by how forward Lance was being.

Lance held up a hand. “Save it. I understand where you’re coming from.”

Keith bristled, he hated when people said that. “No, you don’t! You have no idea who I am, you know nothing about my life, so stop trying to control me! You’re a demon, you shouldn’t be capable of making friends and doing things with no ulterior motive! You shouldn’t be able to feel the emotions I saw on your face this morning! So, what are you hoping to accomplish by all of this?” Keith motioned to everything around them, his chest heaving, and the words tumbling out of his mouth. 

“I just want to be normal again,” Lance said in a small voice, not meeting Keith’s eyes, and Keith felt the fire leave him, falling back against the wall.

“How long have you been a demon?” Keith asked quietly.

“A couple years.”

“How?” Lance’s face twisted at the question.

“Just like most everyone else, sold my soul.”

“Why? What was so bad that you gave away your humanity to fix it? Was it really worth it?” Keith said, still watching Lance’s face. “Nothing should ever be solved by making a deal with a demon, it’s all a scam.”

“Oh, wise words coming from someone who was practically begging at my feet approximately two years ago while I said the same thing,” Lance chuckled bitterly, kicking a pebble.

“What?” Keith’s face dropped as did his stomach.

Lance sneered, then caught a look of Keith’s expression. “Wait, you really don’t remember?”

Keith recollected himself, expression hardening but Lance could still see the vulnerability there- his jaw not clenched as hard as usual, his eyebrows wavering slightly, and head tilted so his eyes would be partially hidden by his bangs. 

“You came to me,” Lance sighed, seeing that this was a sensitive topic to Keith and he didn’t want to set him off even though he was unarmed. “You offered your soul to save Shiro. That’s all you said, I don’t know what trouble Shiro was in, but you kept telling me it was the only way to save him even though I kept telling you otherwise. You really don’t remember that?”

Keith was glaring at his shoes. “Of course, I remember that, I was offering to sell my soul! One doesn’t do that on a whim one night and laughs it off to be forgotten. I just didn’t remember that was you,” he said quietly.

Lance scoffed. “Gee, thanks. I hope to make an impression on everyone who comes to me but seems I didn’t turn the charm up high enough with you.”

“Look, Lance, about what I said earlier. I-“ he paused, taking a deep breath. “I know you’re not like the other demons I’ve encountered, and I may have been unfair in judging you as harshly as I was, but my past experiences with demons were…bad, to put it lightly.” Keith glanced up but found the alleyway empty. 

He pushed off the wall, senses immediately alert and eyes scanning for Lance, finding him nowhere. Pounding footsteps raced towards the edge of the alley and Keith squared up, ready to fight if he had to, but relaxed when Shiro came into view, eyes searching the darkness before locking on Keith, his body visibly relaxing. 

“Where’s Lance?” He asked as Keith walked over to him.

“I don’t know. One moment he was here and then when I glanced back up, he was gone,” Keith frowned.

The doors to the club burst open, and Pidge and Hunk emerged, glancing up and down the street wildly before seeing Keith and Shiro. They raced over, Pidge holding up her phone.

“Lance called; he was summoned. The location’s not far from here! We can make it there in five minutes if we speed!”

“But we don’t have any weapons!” Keith suddenly remembered. 

“We packed a few in the trunk of the car,” Pidge grinned smugly. “Lance may not have trusted you to take weapons into the club, but he’s always thinking ahead.”

“Then let’s get moving!” Shiro nodded.

 

Lance felt bad for ditching Keith while he was talking, and he had seemed about to say something genuine from the look on his face, but it could wait. Lance had someone to protect. 

He appeared in front of a small house on an empty street set near the woods. Lance glanced around cautiously, texting Pidge the address, before sneaking up to the house. His eyes flicked black when he caught sight of the door, its frame broken from being kicked in. He was scanning the lower floor when he heard a scream, accompanied by a loud thud, come from upstairs. He wanted to rush up, but knew he’d lose the element of surprise, so he quietly ascended the stairs, not missing the drops of blood in the carpet.

He crept down the hallway, peering into each room as he passed and eventually reached the end of the hall. He saw a girl laying unconscious on the floor in the last room, and after scanning the room and finding it clear of anyone else, Lance ran over to her, checking her for injuries. It was the girl who had come to him just the other night, wanting to trade her soul for money to pay off her debts. 

A deep chuckling filled the room then, and Lance paled as he saw a huge demon enter the room, broad shoulders almost brushing the doorframe, and he looked like he could easily squash Lance between his large arms. Lance stood, taking a step back and watching the new demon warily.

“Was beginning to wonder how many of your people I’d have to kill before you took notice,” his voice was deep and husky, sending shivers down Lance’s spine, but he didn’t dare show that weakness.

“What do you want?” Lance glowered at him. 

The demon smiled, stepping into the room and approaching Lance, who fought the urge to back up further, but he couldn’t leave this girl undefended. The demon stopped just before the girl, toeing her as he glanced down, black eyes glinting maliciously, and a twisted grin on his face. Lance’s temper flared. He moved to shove him away but found he couldn’t move. A coldness seeped into his stomach, and he glanced at the ceiling, finding a devil’s trap painted there; he cursed at his ignorance.

The large demon laughed, his shoulders shaking, and he grabbed the girl, dragging her away from Lance, who watched powerless. He could only hope the others would get here fast enough.

“What do I want from you?” The demon said, eyes locking onto Lance, who held his gaze despite wanting to shrink in on himself. “I am going to make you regret not taking this girl’s soul, and then I’m going to drag you back to Hell and hand you over to Zarkon so I can claim my reward.”

Lance remained silent only because he didn’t understand what this guy had just told him. Zarkon? Reward? This was the first time Lance had heard anything about this. Then the demon started for the girl, and Lance wasn’t sure what he was going to do to her, but he had to act fast to keep him from harming her, and Lance’s most effective distraction was his words.

“Oh, I see what’s going on here,” he mused, and had to keep from smiling when the demon turned around, head tilted in question. “You’re one of Zarkon’s lapdogs, sent to collect a lowly demon like me after he got tired of you kissing his feet.”

The demon growled. “I am Sendak, one of Zarkon’s most trusted and among his top ranks! I’m no lapdog, but if you’re lucky he’ll make you one.”

Okay, so Zarkon is obviously an important figure.

“So, are you saying you do kiss Zarkon’s feet?” 

“No!” Sendak roared, stalking towards Lance and stopping just before the edge of the area affected by the devil’s trap.

“Do you brush your teeth? Because I strongly suggest you do, as personal hygiene is important in keeping you looking your best! And it seems you’ve fallen quite behind,” Lance sniffed, face twisting in disgust.

Sendak looked enraged then he started chuckling, which quickly escalated into full bellied laughter. Lance stared coldly back.

“I see what you’re doing, boy. Clever, real clever,” Sendak shook his head, turning his back on Lance. “But your mouth can’t save you or her.” He paused in front of the still unconscious girl.

His nails began to grow and blacken, and Lance watched them in horror, images from his dream resurfacing. He snapped out of his stupor when Sendak bent down, nails reaching for soft skin.

“No! Leave her alone, it’s me you want so just take me instead! She didn’t do anything wrong!” He pleaded, no longer able to keep his fear from his voice. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Sendak chuckled, drawing a claw across her arm, though not hard enough to draw blood.

Lance watched with baited breath, never feeling more powerless, and urged the others to get here before it was too late. And as if they heard his pleading, Shiro and Keith barged into the room, eyes locking onto Sendak immediately, they hid their internal thoughts well, faces displaying disinterest bordering anger. 

Shiro shot his gun, firing repeatedly and Sendak hissed, moving to avoid the stinging hits. Then Keith lunged, his blade drawn, while Shiro covered him, slicing Sendak before the demon kicked him away. Keith was quick to retaliate, jumping onto Sendak’s back and raising his blade, but Sendak grabbed his wrist before he could bring it down, flipping him to the ground. He raised a foot to crush Keith, but another series of bullets made him stumble back. Sendak growled and turned his furious gaze on Lance one last time before crashing through the window, nowhere to be found when Shiro rushed over to peer out the window. 

“Took you guys long enough!” Lance snapped, but it held no heat as he sighed in relief. 

Keith stood from where he was checking the girl’s pulse and raised an eyebrow at Lance.

“Well, you weren’t much help just standing around either.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I didn’t have a choice!” Lance pointed up at the trap, and both Keith and Shiro’s gazes followed.

“Hm, should we leave him here?” Keith glanced a Shiro, face straight. “It would save us a lot of trouble.”

“Keith, my man, my knight in shining armor, don’t do this to me,” Lance whined. “Is this about me calling you grumpy earlier? Cause I totally take that back!” Keith’s lips quirked, and Lance’s heart soared.

Then the raven-haired boy flipped his blade in his hands, eyes flicking back up to the ceiling, then wandered. He suddenly ran across the room, jumped atop the desk and twisted up into the air, arm extended towards the painted symbol. The tip of his knife scratched the paint enough to break its hold over Lance, who immediately stepped out, as if it would mend itself before he could escape.

“Ah, finally,” Lance rolled his shoulders, and cracked his neck. Then his eyes fell on the girl. “Is she okay?”

“She will be. Probably has a mild concussion and a few broken bones, but nothing more serious.”

Lance sighed with relief, staring wistfully at her. “She’s just fresh out of college, a girl trying to make her way in the world while drowning in her debts,” then he turned back to Shiro and Keith. “She was the one I was talking to the night you guys attacked me.”

“Right. Uh, we never apologized for that, did we?” Shiro spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, sorry. But personally, I was hoping we would just be talking, but someone got ahead of themselves,” Shiro glared at Keith, who ducked his head, bangs hiding his eyes.

“Yeah, that was all me. Sorry,” he mumbled, thumb running over his smooth blade. 

“No hard feelings,” Lance laughed. “Man, that was close. You guys came just in time!”

“A bit too close for comfort,” Shiro muttered. “Did you learn anything new? Was it the murderer that tried to frame you?”

Lance frowned. “Yeah, I think that was our guy, but he did say some other interesting things I think you should hear.” 

Shiro gave a curt nod. “We’ll talk later. I’ll take care of the girl, call an ambulance and deal with the police. You guys head back to the apartment.”

Keith and Lance nodded, then collected Pidge and Hunk, who were hidden in the car parked a ways down the road, looking sour. They immediately brightened when they saw Lance and leapt from the car to reel him in for a quick hug.

“Keith and Shiro forced us to stay behind,” Pidge pouted.

“Well, I should thank for them for that,” Lance smiled, ruffling Pidge’s hair. “They did what I would have.” Pidge stuck her tongue out at him, and he returned the gesture.

“Did you stop the guy?” Hunk spoke up, worry dancing in his eyes.

“Uh, yeah,” Lance glanced at Keith, a shy smile on his face, before returning to his friends’ expectant gazes. “But we didn’t catch him. The girl he attacked will be alright, Shiro’s taking care of her right now. But, uh, I did find out some more on the case, and it may just muddy the already murky water.”

“Come on, let’s get back to the apartment. It’s not safe to just stand out here,” Keith spoke up, and everyone nodded.

By the time they reached the apartment, everyone was dead on their feet, and Pidge even fell asleep on the drive home. Hunk carried her into the apartment, saying goodnight to Keith and Lance, who had flopped onto the couch; they both chorused ‘goodnights,’ voices droning together. They sat in silence for a while, then Lance turned his head to look at Keith. His eyes were closed, eyelashes fluttering on his cheeks, and dark hair curling and melting with the shadows that were cast on his face, sharpening his features. Keith’s eyes peaked open, and Lance quickly adverted his eyes, hoping he hadn’t been caught.

“Sorry I disappeared on you earlier,” he whispered, thinking his regular volume would sound too harsh in the silence.

“It’s fine,” Keith replied, sleep slurring his words.

“You know you can go to sleep, your bed is right there.”

“No, gotta wait up for Shiro.”

“I think he would want you to get some rest. I’ll wait up for him,” Lance chuckled.

“Hm,” Keith hummed, eyes drooping closed once more. “M’ sorry,” he mumbled.

“For what?” Lance blinked, surprised.

“For judging you harshly before I got to know you,” Lance’s smile was unrestrained, and he was glad Keith’s eyes were closed at the moment so he wouldn’t see how much that meant to Lance.

“Thanks,” Lance breathed.

Keith fell silent, his breaths evening, and Lance knew he had fallen asleep. His lips quirked- staying up for Shiro, huh? He sighed and stood from the couch, gently laying Keith down before covering him with a blanket, deciding it would be easier for him sleep on the air mattress tonight. He stared at the ceiling, tonight’s events playing in his mind on repeat until one name repeated in his head like a broken record. Zarkon. Who was this Zarkon, and why did he have a reward on Lance’s head? He couldn’t come up with the answers he needed, and his thoughts were interrupted when Shiro entered the apartment, looking exhausted. He smiled tiredly when he saw Lance.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hey,” Lance replied, just as quietly.

Shiro sunk onto his air mattress with an oof, and stayed lying there for minute, before turning his body to face Lance.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Lance smiled softly. “Thanks for helping that girl.”

“It’s part of my job,” Shiro insisted. “I do this to help people.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lance said, turning his gaze back on the ceiling.

“Then it seems we have more in common than originally thought.”

Lance smiled, but his gaze remained fixed on the ceiling. Shiro didn’t say anything more, and eventually his breaths evened out. Lance sighed, and let his eyes fall closed. Technically, he didn’t need to sleep unless he depletes his energy, but it was something he couldn’t shake and didn’t want to, made him feel like perhaps he hadn’t lost all of his humanity. 

Lance explained everything in the morning over breakfast, telling them he believed Sendak was the one who had murdered those three people, and how there was, apparently, a bounty on him, and everyone listened intently. Shiro added to the notes in his journal, a frown pulling heavily at the corners of his mouth.

“But why would this Zarkon care about a few souls when there’s, I’m sure, plenty more coming in?” Keith wondered aloud. “And why is he offering a reward for you, who is merely a demon dealer, the lowest of the low on the demon pyramid- no offense.”

“None taken,” Lance assured him. “I’m just as confused as you.”

“Well, there’s not much else we can do,” Shiro said, massaging his temples. “Keith and I are going to start patrolling at nights, and hopefully we’ll catch wind of this Sendak, so we can question him further. Lance, stay put unless you’re summoned, and in that case call us immediately.” Lance nodded.

The week passed by without incident, and Sendak didn’t show his face again- probably licking his wounds, Lance sneered, or, as Shiro kindly reminded, planning a bigger attack. Eventually, the tension began to wane a little, and everyone started joking and laughing more freely. They were sitting down for a movie night, Shiro and Keith preparing to leave for patrol, when Lance felt that familiar pull. 

“Guys, I’m being summoned,” he announced, abandoning the bin of movies before him.

“Call us when you-“

“I got it, mullet! Don’t you worry about me,” he winked and lifted a pair of finger guns before disappearing.

Pidge grabbed her phone from off the table and sat there, awaiting Lance’s text. Five minutes passed and still no ping had sounded.

 

Lance appeared in an alleyway, and glanced around, seeing a young woman sitting with her back against the brick wall. She was lithe and unfairly pretty, wide eyes almost shining in the darkness. She looked at Lance with pleading eyes, her bottom lip quivering, and Lance ran over to her, noticing blood on her temple as he approached. He knew she wasn’t someone who had come visited him, but she looked petrified, and Lance wasn’t going to deny her his help. He crouched down in front of her, catching her arms and offering a gentle smile.

“Hey, tell me what happened.” 

She sniffed. “My friend and I were just walking, laughing and having a good time when this man attacked us. He dragged her away, and I tried to save her, but he knocked me against the wall.”

So, her friend must be someone Lance has encountered. “Okay, can you describe the man that attacked you?”

“Not exactly, but he was huge and scary!” Tears started leaking down her face and her shoulders shook.

“It’s going to be okay,” Lance cooed, wiping her tears, and then stood up, pulling out his phone. “Let me just call my friends, they can help.”

“I can’t let you do that,” suddenly a hand was on his wrist and Lance looked up to see the girl standing before him, grinning, her tears gone.

She twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop the phone, then kneed him in the stomach, pushing the air from his lungs. A punch to the face made his head spin and he stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall.

“Damn, why’s it always the pretty ones,” Lance shook his head, eyes flicking black as he glared at the woman.

He saw that she was no longer alone, a man had joined her, and they wore matching grins, knives in their hands. The man grabbed Lance by the shoulder and threw him on the ground between the two. 

“You’re in over your head, kid,” the man chuckled. “Must’ve done something pretty serious to get Zarkon interested in you.”

“Well, I just found out that he happens to be my biggest fan,” Lance sneered.

A punch to his face broke his nose and blood spirted down his face and stained his shirt, but he felt no pain. Lance turned his head, spitting out blood on the asphalt. 

“I’m a demon, it’s going to take more than a punch to my face to put me out of commission,” Lance growled.

“Something like this a bit more your speed?” The woman cooed, dragging a blade down Lance’s cheek.

The sting that accompanied it told Lance it was a luxite blade, and he jerked his head away, kicking the man off him, his back hitting the wall with an oof. He jumped to his feet and dodged the swipe the woman made at him.

“Who are you guys? More of Zarkon’s lapdogs?” 

“You give us too much credit. We’re just a pair of hunters looking to earn a good rep for the big man to notice.” The woman shrugged with a smug smile.

She lunged at him, movements sharp and quick, and while Lance was just as quick, she managed to land a few hits on his arms, then when Lance had made a dive for his phone, leaving his torso exposed, she threw her blade, it lodging into his side. Lance yelled out, curling in on himself but still reached for his phone, fingertips brushing the cool metal. A heel came down, smashing the phone to pieces and Lance shielded his face as the pieces flew in all directions. He glared up at the man.

“Should we finish him, Nyma?” The man growled, triumphant gaze never leaving Lance.

“I thought Zarkon wanted him alive, Rolo?”

“He didn’t exactly make it clear, we could play it off as a misunderstanding,” the man- Rolo- shrugged, flipping his own knife in his hands.

Lance felt his fight leave him as fast as blood was leaving his body through his wounds, and he stared at the shattered remains of his phone, silently sending a goodbye to his friends probably awaiting a message from him. Well, this was all they were getting. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end, but then he swore his eyelids grew lighter.

He opened his eyes, having to squint against a white light bathing the alley, but he noticed a figure within the light. Rolo and Nyma were staring at the light as well, perplexed and frozen in place. Then another figure darted towards them, no more than a shadow, and Role and Nyma were knocked back. Lance continued to stare at the white light as he felt his head grow heavier. The last thing he saw before his vision went black was a slim, dark-skinned hand reaching towards him. 

“I’m worried about Lance,” Pidge said, pacing in front of the couch. “He hasn’t called. He should have called by now!”

“Maybe it was a false alarm,” Hunk offered, though he looked equally, if not more, worried than Pidge.

“Maybe we should go search for him,” Keith muttered from where he was leaning against the wall, but then Shiro’s hand clamped on his wrist and he turned with a frown to his friend, only to find him staring grimly at something by the door.

Keith turned his head, the sight causing a harsh intake of breath. A woman with white-silver hair stood before the door, face covered in shadow, but in her arms a crumpled form could be seen. Keith’s heart leapt in his throat, and then sunk when the woman stepped forward, revealing she was indeed carrying Lance. 

Pidge cried out and raced towards the woman, but Keith caught ahold of her arm as she passed. She hissed and started clawing at his fingers, but he held tight. They didn’t know if this woman had done this to Lance, or how dangerous she was, so they had to be cautious despite his instincts telling him to dive in knife first.

Keith turned a glare on the lithe, elegant woman. Lance really looked out of place in her arms, beaten and bloody where as she was pristine, and his lengthy limbs too big for her petite frame. Her opalescent eyes shown with strength and wisdom, ethereal in color, and Keith felt slightly more at ease at the sight of them, only slightly though.

“What did you do to him?” Pidge roared, managing to break free while Keith was distracted trying to determine if this woman was a threat. She remained unaffected by Pidge’s accusation, and turned and placed Lance in an armchair, carefully setting him down without jostling him too much. 

“My name is Allura, and I am not your enemy, young one. I am an angel from the heavens,” she spoke, and her voice was as cool and soft as running water. 

Everyone froze, gaping at her. Then Pidge broke the silence with a sniff, and ran over to Lance, falling to her knees before him, hands hovering as she took in his wounds. 

“Is he- is he going to be okay?” She said softly.

“He was set up, lead into a trap. Why, I have no idea,” Allura replied. 

“So, why’d you save him? I thought demons and angels had a feud, and hated each other’s guts?” Keith said, crossing his arms, knife still in hand.

“That was centuries ago,” Allura chuckled a little, and Keith scowled, finding it inappropriate given the circumstances. “We have since worked out our differences; however, I am worried that will all change for the worst soon.” Her face turned grim, and she glided over to Lance.

Pidge curled around him, as if to shield him, but Allura simply placed two fingers on his forehead, breathing in deeply before closing her eyes. An aquamarine light glowed bright around Lance, forcing everyone to either close their eyes or look away, but when the light disappeared Lance sat up with a gasp. His eyes shown aquamarine for a couple second before fading to their usual sapphire. Keith was amazed to find that all of Lance’s wounds were healed, gone, and he turned to Shiro to find the same expression on his face.

“Lance!” Pidge’s voice cracked, and she dove forward, wrapping her arms around Lance’s waist.

Hunk joined them in a group hug, and they didn’t let go for some time, Lance’s eyes shone with mirth and his lips were quirked, quite a difference from how he had looked dead just a minute ago.

“Ah, you missed me?” Lance chuckled, patting Pidge’s head and Hunk’s back. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” he then said more softly, giving them a loving squeeze.

Pidge released him and punched his arm, hard, and he yelped, though it was all show and hadn’t really hurt him.

“Don’t ever do that to us again!” Pidge growled through clenched teeth.

“Okay, okay,” Lance raised his hands in surrender. “It wasn’t entirely my fault, though!”

“Can you tell us what happened? Allura, you’ll fill in what Lance doesn’t know,” Shiro said, stepping forward, eyes still lingering on the angel.  
Lance’s eyes slid over to Allura, and they widened, as if he had just noticed her. His lips stretched into a dopey grin, and mouth opened to say something, but was immediately cut off by Allura raising her hand and turning a fierce expression on him.

“If you are going to make an angel joke, save it. I do not want to hear it!”

Lance’s mouth shut with a clack, but humor still shone in his eyes. Instead he asked, “Why’d you save me?”

“Because it was wrong. You do not deserve to die,” she pouted a little, as if she didn’t want to explain herself.

“Princess!” Everyone in the group turned to find a man now standing in their living room. He had bright red hair and an equally bright mustache, which he was curling, and looking quite pleased with himself.

“Coran, I told you to stop calling me that. The royal families that governed heaven disbanded centuries ago,” Allura frowned. “Did you take care of them?” Coran nodded, and Allura relaxed.

“Ah, my boy, glad to see you’re up and at ‘em!” Coran exclaimed with a wide smile when his eyes slid to Lance.

Lance looked dumbfounded, and Keith was sure he was wearing the same expression. What the hell was going on? Angels are real? And they saved Lance, a demon? He had more questions swirling through his head, and it was making him dizzy.

“Wait, I’ve seen you at Heaven Altea,” Lance spoke up, eyes sliding between Allura and Coran.

“Well, that would be because we run it,” Coran curled his mustache between two fingers. “It’s an angel base and where we are stationed.”

Allura elbowed Coran and he let out an oof. “Don’t tell anyone that or we’ll have to kill you!” Allura turned her intense gaze on each of the people in the room, all nodding vigorously. 

She relaxed, hands returning to their position clasped before her, an easy smile on her face. Shiro nodded at Lance, and he began recounting his story, Allura finishing it when he got to the part of him blacking out, which wasn’t much, just her transporting him here. 

“So, you’ve got more than one person on your tail,” Shiro mused, looking solemn. 

“That’s all thanks to my number one fan Zarkon, who’s probably won ‘biggest jerk of the year’ multiple years in a row, but won’t even face me himself,” Lance snorted.

Allura cleared her throat. “Zarkon is the King of Hell,” she said casually, like it was something you heard every day.

Lance was at a loss of words, and it seemed everyone else was as well. Keith turned his eyes on Lance.

“You just called the King of Hell the ‘biggest jerk of the year,’” Keith smirked.

“Like I was supposed to know Zarkon is the King of Hell!” Lance retorted, then added with a sly grin. “But am I wrong?”

No one replied, not even Allura or Coran, who looked pleased, which Lance interpreted as silent agreement. I mean, a qualification of the King of Hell had to be that they were awarded ‘biggest jerk of the year’ award at least once, right? It seemed like a given.

“I think it’s in your best interests to come back with Coran and I,” Allura said suddenly. “We can protect you more effectively until we figure this mess out.”

Everyone turned to look at Lance, knowing it was his decision to make, but Lance didn’t dare look at their faces. He already knew his answer.

“No,” he crossed his arms and his legs.

“No?” Allura looked confused, like she hadn’t ever been told ‘no’ before.

“That’s what I said,” Lance nodded.

“But Lance, you’ll be much safer with them! They’re freaking angels!” Hunk spoke up.

“Maybe, but as far as I’m concerned so are you guys,” he flashed his friends a smile, which they couldn’t help but return.

“We shouldn’t dismiss Allura and Coran’s help so quickly, Lance,” Shiro said, and Keith nodded his agreement.

“They know more about what’s going on anyways,” Keith added.

“Look, I’m not saying I don’t want their help, but I would be more comfortable staying here with you guys for multiple reasons,” Lance said, putting his foot down metaphorically and physically.

Everyone turned to Allura and Coran.

“So, will you still help us?”

A few tense moments passed as Allura’s gaze slid over all of them, but then she sighed, a tired smile lifting her lips.

“It is not in my willpower to say no, and you guys may be able to help us as well,” she said, bringing herself to her full height and radiating strength. “Especially when a war could be so close.”

“War?”

“A war between Heaven and Hell that could very well destroy the Earth as we know it.” Allura said grimly. “Come, I will tell you all you need to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Allura and Coran have arrived as the angels they are no less! This was an intense chapter and poor Lance got a little (a lot) beat up, so sorry. And Zarkon's the King of Hell, a worthy title for him. Also, Keith, who hate demons' guts with a passion, almost sold his soul and became one!?  
> I love hearing from you guys, about anything, so don't be afraid to comment or click the kudos button and make my day! Thanks for reading!


	3. CHAPTER THREE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another fun filled chapter! Enjoy!

“So, let me get this straight. The king of Hell is a demon called Zarkon, and you believe he’s going to initiate a war, ending the peace between angels and demons, because of some anonymous tips you received?” Keith said unenthusiastically.

“They were only submitted anonymously so Zarkon couldn’t trace them, we have an idea as to who gave us this information and they can be trusted,” Allura clarified, her posture impeccable despite the many hours they’ve spent in a small room back at Heaven Altea.

Allura was attempting to explain to the lot of them everything she knew about Zarkon and the approaching war, and she was managing better than everyone else, who were in varying degrees of slumped posture- except Lance, he was listening intently- but her eyes betrayed her wariness.

“Okay, but how’s all this going to help Lance? It’s not like the war is our problem,” Keith retorted.

“Well, it’s certainly going to be your problem whether you like it or not, my boy, because your world could very much be destroyed when the demons and angels clash!” Coran spoke up, lifting a finger like he was sharing a fun fact.

“As for Lance,” Allura said, turning her attention to Lance, who met her gaze evenly. “I think the more he knows the better off he’ll be. We can’t constantly guarantee your safety, unless we lock you in a room and never let you out, but I don’t think you’d find that agreeable,” Allura smiled, and Lance nodded vigorously. “But we will do all we can to help, of course. That’s why we’re giving you all your own weapons.”

At her words, Coran stood and pressed his palm against a scanner on the wall. There was a beep and then the wall slid away, revealing glass shelves holding various weapons lit by a soft blue light. They seemed to be floating and everyone at the table gaped at the effect.

“For you, Pidge,” Allura spoke, her accent highlighted at the simplicity of her words.

She lifted a small, curved weapon from its designated post, looking like a small crossbow, it’s front sharpened to also act as a blade if needed. She held it delicately in two hands, holding it out to Pidge, who looked frozen, mouth open as she gazed at the weapon from every angle she could. Then she lifted shaky hands, though Lance knew it was from excitement by the gleam in her eyes, and took the small weapon from Allura’s hands, turning it all over, its green accents shining when it caught the light. 

“It may be lightweight but deals a heavy hit whether it’s equipped with luxite arrows or not; it duals as a luxite blade as well for close combat,” Allura explained, pointing out its features as she talked. 

Next, she retrieved a large double-barreled gun, its gold accents standing out in the light. It looked sturdy and reliable. Allura had no trouble lifting it despite how it appeared to weigh half her body weight.

“Hunk,” the man startled at his mention, his head shooting up from where it had been resting on his hand, and he quickly wiped his mouth of any drool- pshh, he had definitely not been sleeping.

“I’m awake, ready to go, what’s going on?” He spoke quickly, head twisting quickly to look at his teammates sitting around the table. His eyes widened when he saw the weapon Allura was holding out to him, and he quickly shook his head.

“Um, no thanks. I’m okay, really,” he shied away, sheepishly waving his hands.

“Come on, buddy. We’re not saying you have to use it, but we don’t want you to get caught without a means to defend yourself should something happen,” Lance spoke up, leaning closer and patting his shoulder, a comfortable smile on his face. Everyone nodded in agreement. 

Hunk nodded and hesitantly held out his hands, which sank with the weight of his gun. His eyes widened as he studied it closely, and a genuine smile even caught his lips. He fiddled with it, probably mapping out its inner mechanics in his mind. Lance smiled but hoped his friend would never have to use this weapon.

“Specially made with luxite bullets, this gun fires two shots at once, as you have probably guessed, and it may seem clunky in design, but it’s not without its benefits; it can also be used as a club in emergencies.” Hunk nodded, eyes still glued to the gun.

“Lance,” Allura said and Lance smiled widely, eager to receive his own weapon. “You get this pistol,” Allura plucked a delicate looking gun with blue accents. Lance’s face fell slightly, but then Allura smirked and extended the barrel, transforming the gun into a sniper rifle- the transformation was impressive and practical, and Lance seemed to enjoy it, his eyes as bright as his smile once more. He made grabby hands and Allura chuckled as she handed it over. “It’s also equipped with luxite bullets.”

“Keith,” Keith didn’t sit up in his seat or show any emotion until Allura lifted a sword from its place on its shelf, then the corner of his lips quirked, and his eyes brightened. “This is a luxite sword, and since it’s not discreet at all,” Allura pressed a button on its hilt and the blade retracted into the hilt, “it retracts to make for easy transport.”

She handed it over to Keith who tested the weight of it in his hands and found it to his liking. His eyes traced the red filigree on the hilt; the design reminded him of the swords the knights carried in his stories he read when he was younger.

“And Shiro,” Allura turned to Shiro with a soft smile, hands clasped before her elegantly. “Coran and I would like to discuss yours with you personally.”  
Keith shared a confused look with his partner, who only shrugged and smiled. “Of course.”

“Follow me then,” Allura said, turning on her heels. “Everyone else, get some rest and food. Coran will hold a training session so you all can get used to your weapons tomorrow morning,” she called over her shoulder, and then Shiro and Coran followed her out of the room.

 

Keith followed the others to the kitchen, which they finally found after a couple wrong turns, but his mind was elsewhere while they walked. His life was finally gaining some semblance of stability, but now everything he thought he had under control was up in the air again, had been since he encountered Lance, and even more so after learning about a possible war between Heaven and Hell. His fingers traced the filigree on the hilt of his new sword, mimicking the circles his mind was going in.

“Hey, Keith, buddy?” Keith’s eyes cleared, and he found Lance leaning down in front of him, Hunk and Pidge peaking around him. “You okay there?”

Keith grunted and nodded his head. “Just thinking is all.”

“Careful, don’t want to blow a gasket. You looked pretty far in your head there,” Lance chuckled, turning around and heading to the fridge.

Keith just now noticed they had arrived in the kitchen, a regal room (just like every room in Heaven Altea) with white marble flooring, gold veins infused in it, and Greek statues and potted plants placed around the room. The kitchen lacked the flashy accents of the dance floor, making it look more clinical and pristine; Keith fought back a shiver- it was also cold in here. 

Keith took a seat at the bar top beside Hunk and Pidge, who were yelling at Lance about the different foods they were craving, asking him if he knew how to make this and that. Lance slammed the door shut and turned around to look at them with an annoyed huff, cutting off their rapid-fire requests.

“Look, I’m not some servant for you to boss around, nor am I a five-star chef- that’s you, Hunk- so how about this. We will make our very own personalized pizzas because that I do know how to make!” Lance declared, and everyone shrugged in agreement. “Great, so we need flour, yeast, water, yada yada, and whatever topping you heathens want,” Lance said, counting off his fingers.

Once all of the ingredients were set out on the counter after some searching through the cabinets, they got to work. Lance guiding them on how to mix and knead their dough, voice chipper and posture relaxed. He seemed to be enjoying himself, maybe a little too much, because Keith was soon hit with a handful of flour in the face.

“Lance!” He yelled, wiping his eyes and turning a glare as hot as Hell itself on the demon.

Lance had the integrity to look sheepish and held up his hands, biting his lower lip to reign in the smile already spilling onto his face. “Sorry, I was aiming for Pidge, but she used you as a shield, so blame her if anyone!”

Keith narrowed his eyes, never looking away from Lance’s face as he grabbed a handful of his own flour. Lance’s eyes flicked to his hand, then yelped as his mind made the connection, but he was too slow. Keith through the powdery solid at him, hitting his cheek, making it rain down the side of his face and neck. Lance’s eyes flicked black, and a smirk pulled back his lips.

“Oh, it’s on! Hunk, back me up!” He yelled, grabbing a bowl of flour, while Pidge grabbed the other.

“You got it, buddy! They are going down!” Hunk nodded, eyes hardening with playful determination.

“Me and you Keith, this is war!” She grinned evilly, eyes glinting.

Flour flew through the hair, covering every surface and resembling snow, their pizza dough forgotten for now. They didn’t stop until everyone was left drained of energy and lying on the floor- the flour revealing everywhere they’ve stepped, and even a few places where they fell. Soon an infectious laughter filled the room, Lance rolling around on the floor, coating himself in even more flour. Pidge tackled him, the two looking like cats playing, as she laughed as well, shoving more flour in his face, and he weakly batted at her. Lance called Hunk for help, but was denied, Hunk looking ready to fall asleep any second.

“Looks like we win,” Keith smirked, crossing his arms smugly where he was sitting on the floor.

“We’ll never surrender!” Lance yelled dramatically, spitting out mouthfuls of flour as Pidge was relentless. “Okay, okay, we surrender! Have mercy, young Pidgeon!”

“That’s Master Pidgeon to you!” She declared triumphantly, hands on her hips.

“Sure, sure. Can you get off me now, Master Pidgeon?” Lance rolled his eyes, arms dropping to the floor.

Pidge got up and jogged over to Keith, high-fiving him with a wide smile. In doing so, she kicked up some particles into the air once more, and Keith sneezed. When he blinked open his eyes again, he saw everyone staring at him in awe.

“What?” He grumbled. The promptly burst out laughing.

“A cloud of flour flew into the air when you sneeze!”

“Did you see that? He looked like a cat!”

“That was the most adorable sound to ever come from him!”

They all laughed and kept making comments, and Keith’s cheeks were burning as he grumbled, ducking his head to hide his face. Then a throat cleared, and they all looked up, a pang of fear shooting through them. Allura stood in the doorway, arms crossed and foot tapping as she glared down at them all. It was terrifying, she was terrifying. Keith gulped, not daring a glance at the others in fear it would draw her attention to him.

He saw Coran peering over one of her shoulders, Shiro the other, both with matching expressions of amusement and disbelief. Keith found Shiro’s gaze and he shook his head, mouth quirking at the corners. Keith scowled at him.

“What are you four doing?” Allura said through clenched teeth.

“Uhhh, making pizza?” Lance spoke up, voice squeaky, but even. A lopsided grin spread across his face.

“Really?” Allura replied, eyes narrowing as she scanned the room. “And you didn’t invite us?”

Keith blanched, eyes darting back to Allura, hoping to confirm she had in fact said what he had heard. And she did, she was smiling, eyes glittering as a burst of air from behind her sent most of the flour back into the air, coating the four on the ground completely. Keith coughed, clearing his eyes, seeing Pidge cleaning her glasses, Hunk still laying on the floor dumbfounded, and Lance shaking himself off as he got to his feet.

“You’re on, princess!” He said, eyes gleaming.

“Coran, to your battle station! Shiro, you’re back up fire!” She barked, facing Lance.

“Keith, Pidge, you’re front line- quick attacks- and Hunk you’re with me- distance and accuracy!” They all nodded resolutely, taking positions.

They battled it out, and if at all possible, the kitchen became whiter as flour filled every nook in the room. Everyone was smiling and at ease, all the kinks that had formed during the meeting effectively worked out, their energy flowing once more. Battle cries and laughter filled the room, and by the time they were finished, there was no one winner, because it seems everyone had benefited from this break. They looked like ghosts, covered in flour from head to toe, some skin revealing itself when someone tried to brush themselves off, but it was going to take a lot more to clean themselves up. They were all heaving, catching their breath, but everyone sported smiled.

“Well, that was…interesting,” Coran spoke first, curling his now white mustache, smiling widely.

“Indeed,” Allura panted, chuckling lightly. “Everyone will need to clean up before beginning training, so I will show you to your rooms.”

“Uh, what about…?” Hunk looked pointedly around at the kitchen, but Allura waved him off.

“Us angels have got a few tricks up our sleeves,” she winked, then left the room.

Lance shrugged and followed her out, which spurred the others into motion and they were soon following Allura down a hallway.

“There are enough rooms for everyone to have their own, but each room is made to hold two people, so it is up to you on how to split up.” Allura explained, pausing at the beginning of the hallway. “Each is equipped with its own bathroom, though, so you’ll have privacy to clean up.”

“Hunk, you can bunk with Lance,” Pidge said, scurrying off towards the first room without another word.

“You can have your own room if you want, buddy,” Lance smiled at Hunk, features looking odd with the flour splattered across his face.

“Are you sure you should be alone, Lance?” Keith spoke up, and Lance shot him a venomous look, so he quickly clarified. “I mean, what if you’re summoned again. Who will you be able to alert if you’re alone?”

“He has a good point,” Hunk spoke up, smiling gently at Lance. “But I’ll shower in another room’s bathroom, so we don’t have to wait on each other.”

“Sounds good,” Lance nodded, relaxing.

“Keith?” Shiro turned to him expectantly, a question in his eyes.

“Let’s bunk, but like Hunk said, I’ll shower in another room so we don’t have to wait on each other.” 

Shiro nodded, and clapped him on the shoulder, then entered the room across from the one Pidge had disappeared into. The rest of them dispersed, Allura and Coran disappearing to their own quadrant to clean up.

 

The training room was huge and just as ornate as the rest of the building- pure white, everything was sparkling. The ceiling was glass, letting plenty of light filter in, the occasional shadow from a passing cloud making an appearance. They slowly filtered in, Allura and Coran standing at the enter of the room, arms crossed behind their backs and kind smiles on their faces. Everyone gathered in a line before them, gazes wandering around the grand room. Their attention returned to Allura when she politely cleared her throat.

“Paladins, welcome to the training room,” Allura said with a smile. “We have everything you could ever need, from simulations to target shooting.”

She proceeded to give them a tour of the large room, showing them how to work the different elements, such as the training bot and flying drones, passing them over to Coran once that was done. She had other business to attend to, heavenly business. But no one minded, they were too focused on the incredible technology, especially Pidge and Hunk who kept asking Coran questions, which he was happy to answer, glad to pass on his knowledge. 

“But, we can have a more in-depth discussion after training!” Coran stated, raising a finger.

Coran took them through the basics, giving them tips about each training sequence, as well as tips on how to better handle their weaponry. Everyone was curious as to what Shiro’s was, and he flashed a smile as he took to the center of the room. He activated his prosthetic arm, his hand glowing a pale aqua, slicing through every drone that approached him. Everyone watched in awe.

“Dude!” Lance exclaimed when he had finished as that was the only word that came to mind after Shiro’s display. 

“Let’s not get on his bad side,” Pidge stated with a smirk, pouncing on his arm when Shiro stood beside her once more, making him chuckle.

“Alright, Paladins,” Coran clapped, drawing their attention from Shiro’s arm. “That will conclude today’s introductory session, future sessions will be more rigorous! Now, any questions before I release you?”

Hunk hesitantly raised his hand. “Uh, yeah, why do you keep calling us ‘paladins?'”

“Good question, number two! Paladin is a term for a warrior!” Coran stated it like a fun fact, twirling his mustache as he spoke. “Anything else? No? Then enjoy the rest of your day, and dinner is at 6!” Then he folded his hands behind his back and exited the room.

Everyone lingered, sharing glances, before shrugging and going their separate ways. Hunk and Pidge went on a search for other technological secrets this place was hiding, while Lance said he was going to search for the library- Coran had made an off-hand comment about it earlier and he hasn’t forgotten since. Keith stayed behind to practice some more, and Shiro decided to stay and give him some company, which also gave him the chance to test his arm and grow more comfortable using it.

At dinner, Hunk and Pidge shared their findings, which included an upside-down pool. They had gone into a rather long discussion about the physics behind it and what not, the others smiling at their excitement, but not so much understanding the terms flying from their lips. 

“I have no idea what you guys just said, but the only that matters is: can I swim in it?” Lance interrupted them, eyes gleaming.

“Hm, I don’t see the point of it if you can’t swim in it, so let’s try it sometime! You can be the test dummy!” Pidge replied.

Lance gave her a flat look. “Thanks, Pidge. I’m honored.”

After that, Coran and Allura joined them and they held light conversation, filled with laughter. Lance told stories about his time with Pidge and Hunk, mentioning that April Fools was a dangerous holiday in their apartment. And baking nights often ended with them covered in flour, much like today’s incident. They had plenty of stories to share, and Keith quietly listened as he ate.

Everything felt so normal, like he wasn’t sitting at the same table as a demon and two angels. But he found he didn’t mind, he actually preferred this to the usual- him and Shiro slumming it in cockroach infested motels and whatnot. He could get used to this, maybe change wasn’t so bad.

 

A couple days later, Lance walked in on Shiro and Keith discussing possible patrol routes, and he plopped down beside them, but they paid him no attention. He listened for a bit, but then his mind began to wander. He was surprised by how comfortable he felt around these hunters, who no more than a week ago had tried to stab him through the heart. But his mama had always said he had a way with people, a social chameleon, always knowing what someone needs from him. He was proud of that, and those words always echoed in his head when he would be summoned by a new person.  
It’s not long before Shiro asked him a question, elbowing him gently to get his attention, but it made Lance smile nevertheless. It was what people did with their friends.

“You know more than us; what route would allow us to cover the most ground?” He asked, still staring at the map.

“Why don’t I just show ya’?” Lance smiled at the idea of getting out and stretching his legs. “Then we can stop by the apartment and grab a few more things. If Pidge goes another day without her computer, I think she’s going to become more of a problem than Zarkon at this point. She’s already trapped me in two devil’s traps today, and Coran- that gorgeous man- had to help me out both times!” Lance huffed, throwing his head back against the chair, rubbing his eyes with a hand.

Keith and Shiro looked amused, but both nodded. “Okay, sounds good, Lance,” Shiro smiled, chuckling a little. “Thanks.”

“No problem. No one knows this city better than me!” Lance smiled brilliantly.

Once their bag of weapons was packed, Lance ogled at the amount of weaponry they had, they threw it into the trunk of the car, then piled themselves inside. They parked in their apartment’s lot, Lance grabbing what he need- Keith scoffed at the number of bottles for skin care and hair Lance had- and stuffing it inside the car before they began walking, keeping their eyes peeled. 

“Why don’t you tell us what you know demon-wise about these streets?” Shiro asked Lance, who perked up at being addressed.

Lance talked as they all walked, his posture lax and arms waving as he spoke. One hand was waving his pistol around, and Keith flinched every time the barrel turned towards him. But he looked comfortable, like it was a night out with friends and they were going to see a movie, not hunting demons.

They turned a corner into an alleyway, and Lance abruptly stopped talking, freezing in his tracks. He scanned the alleyway before him, holding out his arms so Keith and Shiro wouldn’t go any further. He could feel their questioning gazes but wasn’t sure how to answer them just yet. Something felt off, like the air was thicker as if Lance was walking through water, the resistance not enough to hinder him, but was noticeable enough.

Then a roar sounded and from the shadows leapt Sendak, scars running up and down his arms, glowing red eye menacing next to his solid black one, both somehow shining with rage. He sneered as he stopped in front of them, showing all his pointed teeth and black tongue. 

“Sendak.” Lance spat, eyes flicking black and mouth curling in disgust. 

The fellow demon gave Lance a toothy grin, eyes holding the unsettling malice Lance so clearly remembers. Keith snarled and unsheathed his knife, while Shiro and Lance immediately drew out their guns, leveling them at Sendak.

“Bullets can’t kill me,” Sendak smirks, chuckling at their ignorance, but Lance only smirks.

“Oh, but these aren’t just any bullets,” Sendak paused, cocking his head and staring at Lance through narrowed eyes. “These are specially made luxite bullets.”

Sendak growled, eyes flicking over to Shiro holding the gun steady, then back to Lance. “You’re lying!” Lance’s smirk only widened, seeing his hesitance. 

“Do you want to test that theory?”

Sendak lunged for Shiro who fired off a shot, missing the demon, and knocked Shiro against the wall, the gun flying from his hands. Keith darted in, swiping with his knife and forced Sendak off Shiro, who slid to the ground, hand on his chest. Keith twisted and jabbed, but where he’s agile, Sendak is strong, and he easily tossed Keith across the alley and into a couple of garbage cans, which clattered loudly upon impact.

Sendak turned his attention back on Lance, stalking towards him. “Your hunter friends can’t protect you from me. And they can’t protect your family from me either.” 

Lance froze, his eyes slowly raising to Sendak’s cold gaze, malicious smirk twisting his lips. 

“What did you say?” Lance said in practically a whisper, rage warming his chest.

“You may have tried to cut off all connections with them, thinking that would keep them safe from your stupid mistakes, but you slipped up. I know where they live, and I’m going to go there right now and-“

A shot echoed in the silence. Sendak froze and looked down at his chest, where a bleeding hole was right where his heart would be. His had flew to the wound, face in shock as he sunk to the ground on his knees, Lance following his movements with the gun. Then Sendak started chuckling.

“It’s going to take more than a luxite bullet to kill me,” Sendak started chuckling, his shoulders shaking with the deep noise. “Hope you’ve said your goodbyes to your family, because they’re already gone.”

Lance’s face paled, the heat of his rage immediately extinguished by a sharp cold rushing over him as if he had just jumped into arctic waters. He didn’t even notice when Sendak walked over and grabbed him by the neck, shoving his face in Lance’s. Lance was numb. He had failed them.

Then suddenly he was dropped, Sendak gone, and his head cleared when he hit the pavement. He looked over to see Keith standing over Sendak, who was writhing on the ground with Keith’s blade in his neck. Sendak’s body collapsed in on itself, black sludge seeping back into the ground to wherever demons went when they died. Good riddance, Lance thought as he glared at the spot. A hand on his back drew his attention and he saw Shiro looking at him in concern.

“I’m fine,” he waved him off and got to his feet, eyes flicking back to blue. “Amazing actually, now that that bastard’s dead.” 

They finished their route, but Lance was quiet the rest of the way, eyes distant and hands in his pockets as he walked, no longer waving animatedly. Keith and Shiro decided not to mention it. When they reached the car, Lance finally spoke.

“I’ll meet you guys back at Heaven, I’ve got to do something first.”

Shiro studied his face for a moment, taking in the unfocused eyes and the way he kept biting his lower lip. “Okay,” Shiro consented. “But be careful.”

Lance nodded then disappeared without a sound. Keith glanced at Shiro over the roof of the car, but Shiro only shrugged, and they climbed inside, heading home.

Lance rushed from out of the woods behind the white house, running across the lawn to the familiar window, which was black as the night, like the rest of the house. Lance felt his heart clench, and he stumbled as he reached the window, leaning through it and peering frantically around the room. His breath was caught in his throat and his eyes were burning, hands gripping the windowsill so tight he was sure he heard it splintering. But all of that went away as he spotted the lump in the bed, the blankets rising and falling evenly. 

Lance sighed, and sunk to the ground, letting his head fall into his hands, relief bringing about his exhaustion. He let the tears finally fall, tears of relief, tears of regret, tears of fear, all of his emotions he had pent up inside finally coming out. Lance wept quietly under that window, leaning every bit of himself against the white shingles hoping to find a sense of comfort in them like he once had.

 

He made sure to leave before sunrise, saying his final goodbye as he made the decision to no longer visit, especially now that he didn’t know where his enemies lurked. He was relieved when he didn’t run into anyone at Heaven Altea, and slipped inside his room, smiling slightly when he saw the bottles stacked on his bed, and his smile further widening when he saw Hunk sprawled on his back, mouth wide open and snoring softly.

He quietly plucked the needed bottle from the bed and made his way into the bathroom. After going through his routine, he felt like a new person. He looked at his reflection, his own blue eyes looking back. This was his second chance to be something more, someone bigger than who he had been when he was a human. Maybe this was where things started looking up. Yeah, he could totally do this, this being accepting he was a demon, this being protecting his new family, this being saving the world from Zarkon. Lance nodded at his reflection, who nodded back, and he felt his confidence solidify.

He marched out of the bathroom, finding Hunk now awake and folding his pajamas. Hunk greeted him with a warm smile and a cheerful ‘good morning!’ They left the room together, Hunk planning out what he was going to make for breakfast the whole way, which had Lance’s mouth watering. They were the first to arrive in the kitchen, but the others began filtering in as breakfast was started. Pidge trudged in last, eyes drooping and dark circles around them. 

Lance slid her coffee to her. “Pidge, you need to actually sleep at night. Nighttime does not mean stay up and play on your computer!”

“Are you my mom?” Pidge retorted, but there was no heat.

“Yes, and you don’t want to get on the bad side of Mama McClain!” Lance put his hands on his hips and scolded her like his mother has to him countless of times.

Pidge rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee. “Okay okay, you can stop embarrassing yourself, I’ll actually sleep tonight.”

“Good!” 

Hunk set down a plate of bacon, Lance and Pidge immediately pouncing on it. Shiro entered then, and Lance greeted him with a mouthful of bacon. Shiro chuckled and walked over to the coffee machine, pouring himself a cup before sneaking a piece of bacon over Lance’s shoulder. Allura and Coran were next, stating it smelled absolutely heavenly- yes, they were teased- in this kitchen. Keith was last, walking in with his hair dripping onto his shirt. Lance eyed him critically.

“What?” Keith retorted, twisting his hair up into a small bun.

Lance cleared his throat. “How do you like your coffee?” 

“Black.” Lance nodded and poured him a mug, sliding it across to him.

Light conversation started up until Hunk passed out the pancakes, then everyone was too focused on settling their hunger. They all complemented and thanked Hunk profusely, who replied modestly.

As Lance washed the dishes, he felt a familiar tug on his body, and he froze. He almost forgot the danger didn’t end with Sendak, that he still had a ‘job’ to do ‘collecting souls.’ But that doesn’t usually call until night falls, but with how messed up everything has been recently, he didn’t dwell on that fact for long. Lance sighed but turned around and gave Pidge the signal- something they had developed if he didn’t want to interrupt something or make it public that he was being summoned- before disappearing.

Lance appeared in his usual place when people summon him to make a deal. At least the area around this spot was half abandoned. He forced a smile on his face, clapping his hands and turning around suavely. He tugged on his lapels, opening his eyes to see who his client was this time, but his greeting died in his throat and his tongue felt as if it shriveled up because standing before him was a boy with the same tan skin and blue eyes, same brown hair and fleeting freckles that danced across his cheek. A face he hasn’t seen directly in too long, but the way they’re staring at him now makes him feel as if it hasn’t been long enough.

“M-Marco?” Lance’s voice quivered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruh-row! Marco has found Lance?! What does he want?! Stay tuned! (Also, I know Lance is supposed to be the youngest (at least, that's what i've been told) but imma make Marco the youngest and Lance just above him bc it makes more angst for me. Y'know, the little brother who looks up to his bog bro gets me everytime.)  
> Thank you to all of you who read this story! Hope you're enjoying it as much as I love writing it! Comments and kudos always appreciated to know i'm on the right track! And if there's anything that is confusing, or there's something you really love a lot, let me know!! I write to please (you and myself)! Until next time, stay safe!


	4. CHAPTER FOUR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Me updating so soon? I know, I know. It's unnatural....or supernatural *collective groans*

“Lance.” Marco’s eyes held a storm of emotions, his whole body was trembling, but his gaze never wavered from his brother. He continuously twirled one of Lance’s cards in a hand, one edge burnt, while the other was clenched in a fist.

“Marco, I-“

“Save it.” Marco spat, and Lance ran a shaking hand through his hair, biting his lip hard. “You left us. Left me.”

“Not by choice… at first!” Lance cried out.

Marco’s eyes lit up with rage. “You didn’t even tell us why! We thought you were dead, Lance! You never left a note or sent word that you were alright! We didn’t know what to think!” His voice was hoarse.

“I’m sorr-“

“Sure you are. That’s why you came back and told Mama you were alright,” Marco shook his head, chuckling coldly. “You know, I never stopped looking for you, expecting to find a body. At least that would bring us closure. But instead, I find you in a pressed suit and smile on your face.” Lance’s heart sunk.

“It’s not what you think.”

“Really?! Then what is it? Because it sure looks like you abandoned us to pursue something for your own benefit, Lance! What’d you do? Join a gang?” Lance barked at the incredulity of him joining a gang.

“You can’t be serious!”

“No, you can’t be serious, Lance! You’re always the one cracking jokes at the most inappropriate times! And I miss that. Come home, be the brother you used to be to me.” Marco deflated, his fury waning and adrenaline dropping, leaving Lance to see beneath his façade to what he really was- a scared, hurt, and confused little boy.

“But I can’t, Marco. I can’t be who I used to be,” Lance said sadly, eyes staying fixed on the ground, heart breaking with each word he spoke. “I’ve changed.”

“Well, you sure look like Lance. You still look like the brother who taught me how to ride a bike and hit a baseball. You still look like the brother who stood up for me when I was being bullied, and the brother who would always share the treats you’d always buy when the school had a bake sale.” Marco’s voice was shaking now, and Lance didn’t stop the tears from falling, watching as they splashed on the pavement.

“And then one day, I find this card on the street while walking home from school,” Marco lifted up Lance’s business card, crumpled and its edges soft from wear. “And I laughed because I think it’s some kind of sick joke, but I was so desperate for anything, any information, that I went where the card said and followed the directions on the back. And here you are, standing in front of me, looking perfectly okay!” Marco held out a hand, motioning to all of Lance. 

“Do you even think about us anymore?! Do you even care what your disappearance did to us?! Did you even think about what you did?!” Marco yelled, face screwed with emotion.

“All the time,” Lance whispered, raising his gaze back to his little brother. “Marco, I have never forgotten my family. Not once.”

“Then come home,” Marco whispered, eyes filling with hope.

“I can’t. You don’t understand the position that I’m in, and I can’t explain it to you. It would only put you in even more danger than you’ve already put yourself in by coming here.”

“Lance, please,” Marco started pleading, more tears falling from both parties.

Lance forced himself to turn his back. “Go home, Marco. Mama needs you now.”

“I hate you!” Marco growled, crumpling the card. “I hate you!” He repeated louder, and Lance flinched. “You broke us, Lance! You broke our family.” Then Marco spun on his heels, gravel crunching, and stalked away, shoulders shaking, but he kept his head high, just like Lance taught him to do in moments of weakness.

Lance broke, his tears flowed more heavily, and he bit his lip to keep a sob from escaping. All the confidence he had built up yesterday drained from him, leaving his limbs feeling heavy and stomach empty. He tried to tell himself that Marco didn’t understand the big picture, couldn’t see what was wrong with Lance, but all of that was pushed away by ‘you broke our family’ and ‘I hate you’ echoing inside his head. Was this how everyone in his family felt? Good. He deserved it. It only made things easier for both of them, better they be angry at him than go through life crying for him.

 

Lance didn’t come to dinner, and the kitchen was uncomfortably sullen, Hunk quietly cooking at the stove, the only sound the popping of the food he was making. No one was sure what to say, and they all kept to themselves, each knowing what they other was thinking but no one brave enough to address it just yet. Pidge had told them earlier that Lance had given her the signal that he was being summoned for an everyday deal, something he’s been doing for a while now, so nothing unusual. It’s not like Lance hasn’t been gone for a whole day before, according to Pidge and Hunk, so why should they assume the worst. Everyone ate fast to finish the tense dinner as quickly as possible, each washing their own plate before leaving. That was the most awkward dinner yet, and Keith hoped Lance came back soon to save them from repeat offenses. Keith scoffed at his thoughts in amusement, he never would have said that a week ago.

Keith was eager to leave on patrol once night fell, the base only growing suffocating with tension by the end of the day, and he felt an itch to search for Lance. He almost sighed aloud in relief when Shiro announced that they were going on their patrol. Pidge and Hunk nodded at them, seeing them off, and Keith could see the plea in their eyes- find Lance and make sure he’s safe. Keith nodded at them to let them know he got the message, then climbed into the car. Shiro tried to make some small talk, but Keith only grunted half-hearted answers to Shiro’s words, so they eventually feel silent. Shiro parked the car where they had the night before, and they both sat there in silence for a moment, looking out at the parking lot where this whole thing began. 

“Where do you think he is?” Keith spoke up, voice hushed.

“I have no idea. I just hope he’s alright,” Shiro said just as softly, then chuckled. “Can’t believe I just said I hope a demon is alright. That’s a first.”

Keith smiled, that’s what he had been thinking, but where he would have been angry at himself for thinking such a thing previously, now he only repeated it in his mind hoping that if he said it enough times it would have to be true.

“I guess we should start with the apartment since it’s right here,” Keith shrugged. “I’ll go do a sweep, while you get the weapons for our patrol together.”

Shiro nodded, and they both exited the car, Shiro popping the trunk while Keith headed for the stairs to the apartments. His head was on a swivel, looking of any sign Lance had been here, or if something more menacing occurred. He found nothing, even the door of the apartment was locked. He knocked and called Lance’s name for good measure.

“Go away,” came the muffled reply, and Keith immediately knew it was Lance. He could recognize that voice anywhere. But Lance’s usual cheerfulness was missing, the words hoarse and weak. So, Keith knocked again. “Lance, open the door! I just need to make sure you’re okay, for Pidge and Hunk, then I’ll leave you alone.”

Keith held his breath, trying to listen for any movement on the other side of the door, but detected none until the door swung wide open, startling Keith slightly; demons must be light on their feet. He was greeted by a scowling Lance, who looked…. surprisingly unkept. His hair was a mess like he had run his fingers through it in multiple directions, his eyes were red and bloodshot, his bottom lip swollen from biting it- he was still biting it currently- and his shirt was wrinkled and askew. 

“Is everything okay? You look…” Keith said, concerned.

“Emotionally compromised?” Lance chuckled dryly. “But I’m fine, just need some alone time.”

“Why don’t you come back to Heaven Altea with Shiro and me. I’m sure Hunk will fix you up a warm bowl of soup,” Keith offered, not knowing why he was suddenly so invested in Lance’s emotional well being.

“I don’t need food, Keith. I’m a demon.” Lance spat out, glaring at the floor.

Keith frowned. Lance had never spoken so condescending about himself, he was always confident and gave the impression he knew who he really was- something Keith admired. Lance turned, pushing the door closed as he did so, but Keith slipped inside. 

“Lance,” Lance paused but didn’t turn around, hands clenched in a fist at his side. Then Keith glanced around the apartment, eyes widening slightly at the mess.

A vase was shattered on the ground before Keith, and blankets were strewn across the floor. Lance’s jacket was thrown on the couch, it’s cushions ripped out of place. The DVDs that were kept under the television were strewn on the ground, like someone had ripped the baskets out, causing the movies to spill out before chucking the baskets across the room. 

“What- who did this? Are you alright?” Keith muttered in disbelief.

“I did,” Lance whispered, but Keith caught it. Lance slowly turned his head, eyes glistening. “And no, I’m not alright.”

Keith stepped forward to… to do what? He wasn’t sure what to do. Lance was obviously hurting, maybe not physically, but his body was shaking and lip trembling, looking so vulnerable Keith felt a tug on his heart. He wanted to hold him until his shoulders stop shaking and wipe away the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. But how would Lance react to that? Keith didn’t feel they were close enough to justify cradling Lance in his arms.

But he didn’t have to make the choice as long arms wrapped around his waist suddenly, making Keith’s arms fly upwards and his head snap down, chin brushing soft brown hair. Keith hesitantly lowered his arms, honestly dazed and feeling a bit giddy- but he pushed those confusing feelings away- his embrace growing tighter as his confidence grew. Lance sobbed softly into his shoulder, hands shaking as they gripped Keith’s shirt. Keith slowly lowered them to the floor, sending a quick text to Shiro briefly explaining the situation without revealing too much, just enough to reassure Shiro there was no reason to barge into the apartment.

Keith smoothed out Lance’s hair, an unconscious action that made him freeze halfway through, realizing how intimate a gesture it really was, but Lance didn’t seem to mind. His crying had ceased, and Keith was sure he was building up his walls again before facing Keith and the rest of the world. So, Keith continued to run his fingers through Lance’s hair, hoping it relayed the message ‘take your time’ because Keith had experience with this, and knew no one really wanted anyone to see them this vulnerable. 

Lance sniffed loudly then sighed, raising his head from Keith’s shoulder, and removed his arms, wrapping them around his own body. He wouldn’t meet Keith’s eye, but that didn’t bother Keith, what bothered him was the wry smile on Lance’s face, like he was sneering at himself for being so weak. Keith was familiar with those kind of thoughts.

“Hey,” Keith whispered, keeping his eyes on his hands. “It’s alright if you want to stay here for the night. I’ve been in your place before, so I understand wanting to be alone.”

“You haven’t been in my place before, Keith,” Lance said after a moment of silence, voice hard. Keith glanced up, seeing his unfocused gaze was fixed on something over Keith’s shoulder. “You didn’t make a stupid decision that turned you into a monster and made your family hate you.”

Keith swallowed, trying to not let the coldness in Lance’s voice anger him. “Just because you’re a demon doesn’t mean you’re a monster.” Lance laughed, a single, loud and harsh syllable. “But I’m not so different from you, not as much as you think.”

“Oh yeah? Why are you trying so hard to compare yourself to me? To show me how much better you are? How much better your life is?” Lance hugged himself tighter. “A hunter helping a demon get through his emotional baggage, what a joke!” 

Keith closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, his lip quirking into a snarl for a second. He stood abruptly, hands clenched, and made for the door, keeping his jaw clenched so no words he would later regret could tumble out. But a hand on his wrist made him freeze.

“I’m sorry,” Lance’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean that, I’m just- I’m not angry at you, the opposite actually. Thank you for being so kind; I honestly didn’t expect that, no offense.”

Keith’s lips quirked. “None taken, I kinda brought that upon myself.” Keith glanced over his shoulder, his gaze connecting with Lance’s ice blue eyes. They stayed like that for a moment, Lance’s slim fingers still wrapped around Keith’s bony wrist, pads of his fingers hot against Keith’s cool skin. 

“Stay with me?” Lance breathed out, the words barely reaching Keith’s ears, but his eyes flicked down to watch his lips move.

Keith was dumbstruck by the request. Why would Lance want him around? Why not ask for Hunk, or even Pidge? His eyes widened slightly, and Lance looked up at him through his lashes. Keith swallowed; how could he say no? So, he nodded curtly, and Lance’s mouth stretched into a soft smile.

“Let me just let Shiro know what’s going on so he can relay it to Hunk and Pidge, who have been tense all day. Don’t get me started about how awkward dinner was. No one talked! Don’t ever leave us like that again,” Keith ranted, pointing a finger lightheartedly at Lance, making him chuckle, which sent a wave of triumph shooting through him.

“Sure, sure, I promise,” Lance waved him away.

Keith gave him the ‘one moment’ signal and exited the apartment, approaching Shiro who was leaning against the car, watching the final rays of the sun disappear. He pushed upright when he saw Keith approaching.

“Hey, how is he?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. He hasn’t really told me anything, but he didn’t look a hundred percent when he answered the door.”

“And now?”

Keith fought the twitch of his lips. “Better. He wants to stay here for tonight though, just to clear his head. Again, I don’t know any specifics,” Keith raised his hands when Shiro opened his mouth to ask a question. “But someone probably took a jab at the demon part of him because he was being unusually condescending towards himself.”

Shiro frowned, glancing up at the door to the apartment, but nodded. “Okay, makes sense, but should he really be staying alone in this state?”

“No, which is why I’ll stay. I’m sure he would prefer Hunk, but he’s not here right now,” Keith hoped he sounded nonchalant, fighting the fluttering feeling that filled his chest whenever Lance’s words of ‘stay with me’ rang through his head.

Shiro nodded again. “Alright,” he placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Stay safe.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Shiro, I think we’re passed that.”

“I meant both of you.”

Keith did smile at that. “Sure thing, Shiro. Tell Hunk I’ll have him back in time for breakfast.”

Then they parted ways, Shiro heading back to Heaven Altea deciding against a solo patrol, and Keith reentered the apartment, finding everything pristine. He closed the door slowly, eyes still flicking around the room in disbelief.

“Uh, Lance?” He called, entering the living room and finding the demon sitting on the couch, legs crossed, reading a book. Lance marked his page and put the book down with a smile, appearing back to his normal self.

“Did some cleaning.” Was all Lance said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

“I see that. How exactly? I was gone for like, two minutes.”

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” Lance smirked.

“Back to your old self I see,” Keith moved across the room and plopped down beside Lance, careful to maintain a respectable distance despite a part of him wanting to be as close as they had been earlier. 

“Thanks to you,” Lance replied, suddenly shy, glancing down at his hands.

“It was no problem, happens to everyone at some point, just means your human.” Keith waved him off.

“I’m not human though,” Lance chuckled dryly. “Not anymore.”

Something inside of Keith snapped, seeping confidence through his body. He’s had enough of Lance talking himself down, when he was clearly a better man than Keith could ever be. “You know what? Maybe you’re not human anymore, but that’s not the point. Okay, you made some mistake in the past- who hasn’t?- but that’s not what defines you, and neither does being a ‘demon!’” Lance snorted at his finger quotes. 

“Demons aren’t metaphorical, Keith. I thought you of all people would know that.”

“Maybe they are, metaphorical I mean. Just because the stereotype deems demons as murderous, heartless beasts, doesn’t mean all are like that. I thought you of all people would know that,” Keith smiled when he repeated Lance’s words, and Lance rolled his eyes, but a smile stretched across his face, but he remained silent.

“What makes you Lance is your quirky attitude, infectious smile that never seems to wane, and crude jokes about anything and everything! What makes you Lance is your genuine concern towards those you care about, your need to protect Pidge and Hunk, and the kindness you show those who summon you to make a deal!” Lance had fallen silent, his eyes widening with every word Keith was speaking. “Lance, you might be a demon, but I’ve never met another demon who acts so human. You didn’t lose your humanity when you sold your soul. I don’t know all the specifics, but I do know you’ve shown more humanity in the passed week then myself.” Keith huffed, his eyes searching Lance’s, seeing a new light in them that he hasn’t seen before. He felt crazed by the adrenaline coursing through him and took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

He felt a hand cover his own fist, and he opened his eyes to find Lance had crawled closer, eyes inquisitive as they continued to search Keith’s.  
“You mean that?” His voice was breathless with disbelief. Keith nodded, struggling against the emotions swirling inside of him right now, eyes fluttering closed again as he focused on the way his hand felt like it was on fire where Lance was touching him. “Can I kiss you?” Keith’s eyes flew open once more, mouth open in a silent gasp, but he nodded again, heart pounding in his ears.

Lance slowly leaned forward, a hand moving to rest on Keith’s hip to support him as he leaned over to connect their lips. As soon as their skin met, Keith felt as if he was lit on fire, and he struggled to hold back a moan at such an intense sensation. Keith shifted, moving his legs together so Lance could straddle him more comfortably, bringing his arms up to cup Lance’s face, pulling him closer. Both of Lance’s hands now rested on Keith’s hip, fingers twitching, and Keith gasped when his nail scraped over exposed skin. 

Half of Keith was screaming at him, asking him why he was doing this, kissing a demon, while the other, more dominant, part of him told him everything about this was right. If he let the fact that Lance was a demon control his decisions, then he would be a hypocrite based on the speech he just gave. So, he pushed any thoughts out of mind, only focusing on Lance and the softness of his lips and bluntness of his nails dragging across the soft skin of Keith’s stomach. Keith sucked in a breath, making Lance chuckle.

“The hunter becomes the hunted,” Lance said when they separated, his breath fanning Keith’s lips, sending a buzz through him. Keith scowled at him, knowing Lance knew exactly what he was doing to him. 

“How long?” The question caught Keith off-guard, and he cocked his head. “How long did you know I was different from other demons?”

“Since we went to the club,” Keith rasped. “I was trying to tell you that when you disappeared on me.”

“Ah, well I won’t be disappearing tonight,” Lance smirked, his hands slipping under Keith’s shirt, deliberately trailing his hands upwards teasingly slow, making Keith squirm with a gasp. He lifted Keith’s shirt up and over his head, tossing it away without breaking eye contact. 

His eyes lingered on Keith’s torso, mapping every bump and curve and scar and freckle on Keith’s skin, before leaning down, pausing an inch from Keith’s neck, breath hot on the sensitive skin. 

“Do you want to continue?” And Keith groaned at the vibrations of Lance’s voice, and he threaded his fingers through brown hair, tugging Lance down.  
“Just kiss me,” Keith growled. 

Lance chuckled, but wasted no time doing what he was told, trailing kisses down Keith’s throat, then back up, grazing his lips over his adams apple, and Keith moaned, throwing his head back to give Lance better access, his fingers twisting in the tan man’s hair, drawing a groan out of him, which vibrated against Keith’s skin. Keith cupped Lance’s face once more, guiding his head back up for a heated, open mouthed kiss, neither caring how sloppy it was, just wanting to satisfy the heat both felt. Lance pressed closer to Keith, rising above to deepen the kiss, hands tipping Keith’s head back, and both groaned at the movement. Tongue intertwined with tongue, and their lips glistened with saliva, some dripping down their chins, but neither took notice, only wanting to be closer. Keith growled, fisting his hands in Lance’s shirt so he wouldn’t pull away. 

When they separated, he stared into Lance’s eyes, his pupils blown wide, and new he looked the same. Lance was panting hard, both were, and their chests brushed with every breath. Then he started chuckling, and Keith glared at him, but with no heat.

“What?”

“You’ve got a little-“ he finished by wiping his sleeve across Keith’s chin.

“Well, whose fault is that?” Keith chuckled, then grabbed Lance’s sleeve, pulling it so his arm slipped out. Lance shimmied to get it the rest of the way off, smirking as he watched Keith’s eyes flick to every patch of skin as it was revealed.

Keith’s hands hovered over Lance’s waist, and when he finally let his hands gently fall, Lance’s eyes fluttered closed, a soft smile tugging at his lips. Lance bent down to kiss Keith at a more languid pace, soft and exploratory, hands massaging his shoulders while Keith’s squeezed his hips, thumbs rubbing across the skin like an arousing metronome, steady and grounding and real. This was all real. Lance hummed his happiness, fingers twisting in Keith’s hair. "We should get some rest," Keith panted after a while. "Everyone will be expecting us for breakfast, and as much as i'm enjoying this, we should take it slow." Lance pouted, but he agreed. He sat up, freeing Keith from beneath him, throwing a smirk over his shoulder as he stood. "Beat you to the bedroom!" "I- what?" Keith gaped, caught off guard, but chased after Lance. Keith tackled Lance onto the bed, towering over him triumphantly. Lance grumbled the entire time they got ready for bed about how he had been going easy on Keith, and Keith only chuckled and played along. They spent the rest of the night beside each other, falling asleep with smiles on their faces. 

 

Keith awoke slowly, eyes fluttering open and blinking against the light coming from between the blinds, his mind lagging. He wasn’t in a familiar room, and for a moment, he thought he was still dreaming, but then someone else shifted beside him, and when he turned his head he got a mouthful of hair. He sputtered, and only when the arms around his waist squeezed tighter and Lance mumbled in his sleep did his mind finally clear, snapping back so suddenly it left Keith staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, body frozen. Last night flashed through his mind, Lance’s breakdown, asking him to stay, then their passionate activities during the night, which was why he was now lying in this bed with Lance half-draped over him. But he couldn’t find any regret within him. What he had felt last night was genuine, and he knew that’s how Lance had felt as well. Keith smiled lazily, a hand carding through Lance’s hair, making the sleeping man hum happily. Keith’s other hand blindly reached for the clock on the bedside table, eyes straining to read the blurry digital numbers. 8:38am.

Keith jerked upright with a gasp, throwing Lance into his lap, who had squeaked and was now glaring at him as best he could, eyes blinking rapidly to clear his sleepy haze.

“Keith?! What the hell, dude?!”

But Keith just threw off the sheets and climbed out of bed, grabbing his clothes frantically and tossing Lance’s on top of him, who grumbled and batted them away.

“I told Shiro I’d have you back by breakfast, which Hunk has always insisted starts at nine,” Keith began explaining, hopping as he pulled his jeans up. “We have twenty minutes to get to Heaven Altea, and the walk there is at least ten minutes!”

Lance had rolled over on his stomach, propping his chin on his hand, eyes following Keith around the room. He was the picture of indifference. “So, we just call them and tell them we’re running late.”

“Sure, but it’s not that easy. Shiro will suspect something; I’m always punctual, so now should be no different,” Keith huffed, raking his bedhead into a ponytail. “Especially since I’m supposed to ‘hate’ you.”

“Do you still hate me?” Lance said with a lazy smile.

Keith turned a deadpanned gaze on him, hands freezing in his hair. “Right now, I do.”

Lance stuck out his lower lip in a pout, and Keith shook his head and finished securing his hair. He then turned to Lance with a huff- Lance would never admit how cute it was- when he saw the man still hadn’t moved an inch, only staring at him in amusement, and Keith countered it with a glare. They sat like that for a minute, Lance’s smile slowly widening. That smile was maddening to Keith, a good maddening.

“Just blame it on me. Hunk and Pidge know how long it takes me to get ready in the morning.”

Keith seemed to think it over. “Fine, but you still need to get up and get ready. I am not missing Hunk’s breakfast because of you!”

“Wow, you really know how to treat a guy who just gave you the best night ever,” Lance sing-songed the ‘best night ever.’

Keith deadpanned. “Are you sure about that?” Lance gasped scandalously, Keith’s smile finally breaking free. 

He grabbed Keith’s wrist as he tried to exit the room, pulling him down to steal a kiss. Keith caught himself on the edge of the bed, pulling his head when he realized what Lance was trying to do. But after some embarrassing- in Keith’s mind- whining, he consented, making it quick, which drew out another whine.

“Get. Ready.” Keith turned to leave the room, but Lance’s voice froze him in his tracks.

“Do you regret last night?” 

“Maybe if it had happened a week ago, but no. I don’t regret anything,” Keith replied, turning around and leaning against the door, arms crossed. He gave Lance a reassuring once over.

Lance smiled wide, then rolled over to grab his clothes, wriggling into them. They left the room together, picking up their shirts from the floor near the couch; Lance wiggled his eyebrows when he caught Keith’s eyes. Keith punched him in the arm, then tossed Lance his phone.

“Call Hunk and tell him we’re on our way.”

 

As soon as they walked into the kitchen, Lance was tackled. Pidge threw herself at his legs and Hunk wrapped him up in a bear hug, squeezing him tightly. They scolded him, though none of their words held heat, just fondness. Keith felt his lips twitch; they really cared for him. And Lance cared about them just as much.

Breakfast was the usual- loud, filled with laughter, and comfortable- much to Keith’s relief. Dinner last night had been a nightmare, and while Keith appreciated silence, it had been suffocating. He watched Lance talk animatedly, sometimes with his food still in his mouth, and was amazed at how there was none of the broken, depressed man he had had to put back together last night present. Lance was incredibly strong, and that wasn’t because of the demon part of him, if last night was any proof of that.

Keith coughed, his thoughts trailing to the other half of last night, and he willed his burning ears to cool off. Now was not the time, he scolded his inner self. He forced his thoughts back to the conversation at hand, or lack thereof, noticing most people had fallen into an inquisitive silence as Lance washed up dishes. Coran stood to help him, so he wouldn’t be left in lonely silence washing and drying- Keith didn’t think Coran knew just how much that would mean to Lance, or maybe he did. Eventually, everyone’s focus shifted to him.

“So,” Pidge raised an eyebrow. Keith mirrored her expression.

“So…”

“What happened last night? Why’d you guys stay at the apartment?” Pidge asked eagerly, a smirk on her face. Keith swallowed.

“Lance wanted to be alone, and Shiro and I agreed that he shouldn’t be completely alone in the emotional state he was in. And since neither you or Hunk were there, I was the one to stay.” Keith shrugged, hoping he appeared nonchalant. 

“Was he really that much of a mess?” Hunk whispered, concern reflected in every line on his face.

Keith sighed, pushing the food around on his plate. “When I walked into the apartment, it was trashed. Movies everywhere, blankets thrown around the room, even the couch was torn apart; it was a mess. And Lance just looked…tired. Oh, and don’t worry, he cleaned the apartment up good as new while I was talking to Shiro- don’t ask how.”

“Could care less about the apartment right now,” Pidge scoffed, mostly to herself, but everyone heard her.

“I wonder what made him so upset? He’s never been like that before, right Pidge?” Hunk said, fingers nervously tapping on the table.

“No, except the first night we found him.”

“He didn’t give me any specifics, but he kept mentioning the fact he was a demon, like it defined him,” Keith added, finishing his plate of food. “I think he might’ve mentioned his family hating him once. But maybe he’d open up more with one of you.”

“Hunk.” Pidge said simply.

“Alright, I’ll try talking to him tonight,” Hunk nodded as if resolving a plan in his mind. “Let’s just let him heal today.”

Everyone agreed, and thus concluded breakfast. Keith carried his plate over to the sink, dunking it into the water where Lance had his hands submerged. He shot Keith a look, and Keith scowled.

“What?”

“Can’t wash your own dishes, mullet?”

Keith blew a few strands of hair out of his eyes. “Of course, I can. Move.” He pushed Lance out of the way, dunking his hands into the water, grimacing when a soggy piece of egg touched his hand. He didn’t notice two wet hands hovering behind him until they clapped onto his cheeks, soap flying into the air.

“Lance!” Keith growled, grabbing his wrists and shoving them away.

He turned around to Lance’s smug grin, dripping hands held in front of him. Keith glared him, then smoothed his face into a steely calm as an idea entered his head. He saw Coran distance himself, holding up the plate he was drying to block half his face. Keith also noticed Shiro whisper to the others and slip out of the room. He was familiar with this face.

Before Lance could react, Keith plucked the sopping sponge from where it was floating in the sink and chucked it at Lance. Bullseye. It hit him right in the center of his face. Lance squeaked, stepping back in surprise; he peeled the sponge off his face with a disgusted look. He squeezed the sponge in a single hand, water flowing to the floor, but his eyes remained locked on Keith, who was leaning idly against the sink, a smirk decorating his face.

But before this could escalate further, Coran stepped in between them. “Save it for the training room, boys.”

They both nodded, and Lance smiled wide at Keith as he passed the sponge back, whispering ‘this is war’ in his ear, making Keith shiver. Then he spun on his heels, calling for Pidge and Hunk to follow him and left the room. Keith finished the dishes with Coran, who had many interesting stories to share, though Keith didn’t understand most of them. Eventually, his mind drifted to what Lance had planned in the training room.

And Keith decided, he was probably going to get his ass handed to him. Damn demon strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Okay! Obviously, now Lance's family is being brought into the picture, so we'll see more of them. And maybe even find out why Lance sold his soul ;). We're just getting started! Also, it finally happened, the moment you've been waiting for! Klance. Laith. Pick your poison. But I can't help but be unsure if it's too soon? Idk! What'd you guys think?  
> Always happy to hear from you! And until next time, stay safe!


End file.
